Blossom In My Eyes
by peanutbutter126
Summary: After an encounter with Sasuke that leaves her blind and comatose, Sakura has to face the aftermath when she wakes. And when she can't bring herself to deal with it, Naruto finds himself picking up the shattered pieces of his friend.
1. Chapter 1

**Blossom In My Eyes**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

* * *

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." – _Winston Churchill_

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

He very rarely appreciated the early hours of the morning. More often than not, he would wake to the consistent chirping of birds, and would curse the man who had planted that tree in front of his apartment, directly outside his window. It usually took more self-control than necessary to restrain himself from crushing that pestilent plant that was home to the village's noisiest flock of birds. Only the paperwork that would follow from needlessly demolishing Konoha's vegetation kept him in check.

Why else would those bothersome birds _still _be waking him at bloody sunrise each morning?

Today, however, was not one of those irritating days. No, he had specific days reserved for being a pottymouth. He couldn't quite grasp the cause of his elation – after all, it was too early for his usual enthusiasm to kick in. Then, as he slipped into his jacket and reached into the drawer for his forehead protector, it came to him.

It was his rest day, and therefore time for a visit to the hospital.

But before that, he would stop by the flower shop.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka hated the mornings. For two hours each day, she would despise her parents for dragging her out of bed to help in the family's shop. During those hours, she would usually have a permanent scowl fixed on her face, commonly accompanied by a mood the colour of a black rose.

The door behind the counter – that Ino was unfortunately looking over – swung open and Ino's mother came in, pulling off her work gloves and rolling down her sleeves. Inoichi followed a moment later, a loaded cardboard box balanced on each shoulder. He grumbled a greeting to his daughter, obviously resenting his duty as much as she did hers.

"Honey," her mother said, rummaging through the drawers for whatever she was searching for – obviously having no luck. "Will you be okay by yourself while your father and I go deliver some orders?"

Ino grunted in response as if to say, _"Wow, Mum, I suppose that's why I became a kunoichi – to babysit flowers until some unfortunate guy comes along and tries to steal them." _But Hana Yamanaka had never even considered becoming a kunoichi, and therefore would not understand her daughter's willingness to leave the scented atmosphere of the greenhouses for the stench of sweat.

So what Ino did instead was lift her head off the pillow she had made of her arms and eye her mother distastefully. "You are _not _running around the village in _that_," she said in disgust, wrinkling her nose at Hana's soiled and crumpled apron that was a seven-year-old birthday present from the very daughter who was threatening to call her a stranger if the OSSD - Object of Social-Status Destruction – was not discarded immediately.

"Of course I am," Hana replied, slipping easily under a mask of innocence. "A mother always treasures her daughter's gifts to her."

Inoichi shifted his load and gave his daughter a solemn look. "I feel your pain," he said in a grave voice.

Ino rolled her eyes. "You married a weed, Dad."

"And the weed gave birth to a beautiful lotus," Hana said, finally uncovering the piece of paper she had been looking for – the list of customers that had ordered flowers from the shop. She leaned forward and planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead, who had automatically raised her head for the habitual gesture. "We'll be back before you have to run off again," she promised.

"When will you appreciate me for what I do for this village?" her daughter sighed dramatically. Ino and her mother squabbled more frequently than the former did with anyone else combined.

Not that she didn't love her parents.

The door closed after Ino's parents, the bell announcing their departure. A small smile lingered on her face for a short moment longer, and then the silence began to settle in. She huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes and lowering back into the position she had long ago named The Posture of Boredom.

Time crawled at a pace slower than Shikamaru's standard snores, and Ino found her mind drifting. Her eyelids started to grow heavy. The heat in the store and the scent of fresh flowers made it extremely difficult for her to handle the task at hand. It would not be the Yamanaka's best day if she fell asleep in broad daylight, puddle of drool ready for photography. Ino smirked half-heartedly.

"Yo!"

Her back snapped up straight and her head shot up. Unfortunately, her customer had chosen that exact moment to lean over the counter. Skull and jaw collided. The moment froze. Ino's hand slowly inched toward her head. She carefully pressed her fingers against her skull to make sure there were no fractures, and then lifted her gaze.

To land on none other than the rockheaded Naruto Uzumaki.

Ouch.

"That _hurt_, you idiot," she hissed through clenched teeth.

First note on every smart girl's mind: Never make bone to bone contact with Naruto Uzumaki as he is a dinosaur.

He scratched his chin. "Hey, I actually _felt_ that," he said thoughtfully. Then he noticed her glare and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, ducking his head in apology. "Sorry." He peered out cautiously, watching the girl thoroughly thinking through the possible punishments and the pros and cons of each.

"Ino?" he asked hesitantly.

She shook her head, the movement momentarily jarring her mind. "Whatever," she muttered. "It'll give me a monstrous headache if I try to think of something nasty for you." She glared at him. "But!" she added perilously.

He gulped. "But…?"

Her eyes glinted like ice. "But," she said slowly, seriously. "You'll have to buy a bunch of flowers off me."

Naruto's face split into a wide grin and he heaved out a relieved breath. "Hey, no problem. I was going to get some anyway." He laughed and gave her another apologetic nod before moving down the rows of flowers in the store. "Where were the daffodils again?" he called cheerfully over his shoulder.

The smile that had been forming on Ino's face froze. Her cerulean eyes misted over. Daffodils. Again.

'_They're so…sincere. I like them – doesn't everyone?'_

Ino found herself gripping the edge of the counter.

Naruto noticed the silence and straightened. His own eyes saddened when he saw Ino's carefully contained posture. He recognized that stance by now, having been paying visits to the flower shop about as commonly as he did the ramen stand.

"Ino," he said in a lifted tone, smiling when she looked up. "She likes daffodils."

"Yes," the blonde girl said in a whisper. "She did."

"She does," he corrected, still smiling. "She likes them fresh and smelling good. In a vase, too. Do you have something like that?"

Ino swallowed with difficulty and closed her eyes, inhaling a deep, cleansing breath. Her body heaved, shuddered, and when she looked up again, she was smiling brightly. "Sure," she said, reaching for the keys to the storeroom. "I'll go get the vase. Daffodils are in the aisle to your left, down the end." She slipped into the small room.

The colourful plants fought to catch his attention. His hand trailed to the side, brushing over every bud gently, each one releasing its own pure aroma. Naruto smiled and turned into the next aisle. Again, his hands swept past the plants. Until one particular vibrant shade of yellow dominated his favour.

"Now," he murmured, bending over to inspect each flower carefully. "Let's see…come on, guys – liven up a little!" He picked out three that seemed to stand out amongst the sea of mellow brightness. He grinned. "You three look pretty handsome there. Not as handsome as me, but you'll do."

Ino wondered why he looked so lonely in her eyes.

She laid a lilac-shaded vase on the table and started wrapping it with paper. She didn't need to ask Naruto if it fulfilled the specifications he had in mind; she had served him enough times in the past months to know that he didn't mind and was on an unofficial mission to gather all the shop's vases. As long as she didn't give him the same of a previous purchase, he would not complain.

"Should I put it on your tab?" she asked as she reached for the trio of daffodils he had picked out. She sliced off a square piece of plastic wrap from the roll and folded it around the flowers.

"Nah; I've got cash today."

"Hmm." She tied a pink ribbon around the bundle to keep it together, and passed it over the counter to him. "Pay up."

He reached into his pocket for his frog-shaped wallet. "Right. See ya."

Ino frowned at the amount he had deposited into her hand. "Wait a minute," she called as he gathered his purchases and made toward the door. "You idiot – aren't you going to collect your change?"

He grinned over his shoulder. "Count again," he said cheerfully, and opened the door. "Oh yeah – don't forget to smile next time!" And he left.

Ino's eyebrows remained arched up for longer than necessary. She took his advice and went through the sum of coins again. But she had been right the first time; he had paid her a little more than required. Even if she added back the discount she usually charged him, the amount didn't seem to balance out.

It wasn't until her parents came back and she decided to change out of her uniform that she noticed the tulip pinned to her hair.

* * *

The nurses let him in without question. There had been a time, months ago, when they would scowl at the sight of him and prevent him from seeing the one he sought. A quick talk with the Fifth Hokage had settled them from directing him to the incorrect rooms. Perhaps it was their sympathy that gave way in the end. The sight of the blonde youth that would tirelessly seek the patient in Room Eighty-Four regardless of weather conditions, time or his own wellbeing could warm even their biased hearts. And on the days that he was away on missions and could not make it, he would always return as soon as he could with a daffodil for each day he missed.

Naruto took the stairs up to the third floor and hummed as he walked down a familiar hallway. The wrapped vase was tucked under his arm, the flowers held behind him as if to surprise whoever he was presenting it to. He reached Room Eighty-Four and opened the door.

She lay on the bed, the sunlight gently lighting up her face. As always, she looked angelic, standing out against the pale walls and the sickly-coloured tiles. He grinned as he stepped inside, closed the door behind him and crossed the room to her bed.

"Morning, Sakura." He laid the flowers and vase on the bedside table and leaned forward to smile at her. His fingers played with a strand of her hair. "Man, your hair grows so fast – no wonder you had such long hair when we were Genin. Sorry I couldn't visit earlier; Granny Tsunade sent me to Suna with a message for Gaara. Hope you're not mad. Oh yeah - I bought you flowers."

He peeled the paper off the vase and weighed it in his hands. He sat down on the chair beside the bed and took out a senbon. He started etching a design onto the ceramic surface. "It's your birthday next week, huh? I don't think I'll be able to make it, but I'll bring you your present tomorrow. You know how I'm a Chunin now - yeah, you missed that - I'm going to take the Jonin test next week. And you bet I'm gonna pass – then Neji can stop bossing me around. Wish me luck!

"But if I don't pass the first time, there's always next year. We can do it together, so you'd better wake up by then. I think Shikamaru and Kiba are taking it next year. Ino's thinking about it, too. Kakashi-sensei says it's pretty hard and stuff, but Pervy Sage thinks I can handle it. That's good. Because if I can take care of that test, so can you. I've never seen a girl hit as hard as you, and that's _not _counting that chakra you put in those hits." A playful smile danced on his lips. "You gave me pretty good beatings more than once. We're a bit off timetable for the next one, huh?"

There was silence for a moment as he carved a difficult section of an image onto the vase. His tongue was held between his teeth as he worked, his brow furrowed in concentration. His skill with carving had improved since the first times, which had often resulted in failure more frequently than satisfaction. Over a dozen pots were laid on display around the hospital room, each bearing their own unique design. They varied on his mood, his experiences and memories. He bought one every time he missed visiting her for more than a day.

"There! Finished!" He laughed and set the vase down on the bedside table, unwrapping the flowers and placing it into the container. "I like this one – you will too. Once you wake up and take a look at it, that is." He glanced up at the wall clock. "Ah – I think Ichiraku's is open now. I'll go get some breakfast now – but I'll be back in the afternoon, I promise."

Naruto smiled and gave Sakura's hand a squeeze. Then he left the room, closing the door gently behind him.

The sun shone on the vase, lighting up the comical picture of a certain pink-haired kunoichi brandishing a huge fist at a cowering blonde boy.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

* * *

"I always try to believe the best of everybody - it saves so much trouble." – _Rudyard Kipling_

* * *

Iruka Umino could truthfully say that he did not take as much interest in teaching as he used to. On the days that he felt particularly put-off, it took very little to spark his impatience. Had he properly learnt the Fire jutsus, he would have long since burned down that stuffy classroom that contained twenty-six squealing devils.

He sighed as he gathered his books and placed them in a stack at the corner of the desk. Outside, the children played on the Academy grounds, oblivious to their teacher's fading frustration. He sat in his chair and watched them for a while, unaware of the faint smile that had spread on his face. Sometimes, when they weren't staring blankly at him or squabbling with each other, they could be quite adorable to watch.

They were children, kids. Perhaps he shouldn't be expecting so much from them, demanding more from their abilities and getting worked up when they could not perform to the standards. Iruka didn't _think _he was overrunning them, though that was most likely due to another cause.

He was more accustomed to having to yell at kids for _not _sticking to the Academy syllabus.

As a teacher, Iruka was not supposed to take sides and pick out favourites. Yet he clearly yearned for the days when an orange ball of energy occupied the front row seat now taken up by the more studious – in other words; boring – students. There had been talent in Naruto's graduating class – talent and the skill to reduce their teacher's voice to a mere croak while the grin remained firmly pasted on the Chunin's face. Even with last year's class had been more entertaining, with Konohamaru rising to fill in Naruto's absence.

A knock by the door disrupted Iruka's musing. It was one of his colleagues, a tall bespectacled man by the name of Sato Fukuya. He was among the luckier of the Academy teachers, with a relatively stable class that no complaints could be lodged against.

"Hey, Iruka, want to join us for morning tea?"

Iruka turned away from the window and smiled at the man, standing. "I'll pass; I feel like a nice hot bowl of ramen. Next time."

Sato laughed. "This coming from the man who watches his wallet like an Inuzuka puppy his bone. Right then – I'll be seeing you. And for your reputation's sake, make it back in time for afternoon class this time."

"Will do." Iruka had on one occasion – and one occasion only – lost track of time during break time and the result had been catastrophic. It had taken him quite a lot of hours to return his classroom to its normal state, and even then he could still see the remnants of what must have been a child's best afternoon when he peered carefully around him. He had Naruto to thank for that incident.

The morning break ran for forty-five minutes, and it took Iruka six of those to walk down to the ramen stand. He was glad to be free from the room that was hell to him. The fresh air did him good, and he found himself whistling as he walked down the street, hands in his pockets. The sun shone brightly above him, cheerfully shedding its rays on the Land of Fire. Iruka felt his Academy teacher side of him gradually slide away, freeing him from the dreaded ungraded written assessments tasks that waited for him, the first thing he would see when he opened the drawer of his desk.

"Hello there, Teuchi," he said, greeting the man who ran the ramen stand. He sat down two seats away from the stand's other customer. The elderly man beamed at him.

"Oh, hey there, Iruka. Long time no see – been busy?"

Before the Chunin could reply, there was an eruption of "Iruka-sensei!" and he turned to look at the owner of that boisterously loud voice. A wide smile spread on his face.

"Naruto. I should have known I would be seeing you here."

The blonde grinned and shuffled along to sit next to his old teacher, taking with him his half-finished bowl of ramen. "Man – it feels like ages since I've seen you. My treat!" he leaned up and over to slap Teuchi on the shoulder. "One nice dose of miso ramen for this gentleman here thanks, old man!"

Teuchi laughed and nodded. "Coming right up!"

Iruka Umino wasn't one to take a biased opinion. He believed that there was good in each person on this planet, no matter how tiny that amount may be. To him, all students were equal, all children of the Leaf.

But there was no denying that he was proud to have produced Konoha's 'Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja'.

Seeing that familiar grinning face, the unruly blonde hair and eyes sparked with determination – it bought back more memories than Iruka could count. He had chased that child down the corridors of the Academy countless times, even signing up to be amongst those who would pursue the boy the next time the Hokage Stone was defaced with uncouthly comical remarks. Iruka had lost his parents to the Nine-Tailed Fox, but ironically, he felt closer to Naruto than he had ever anyone else.

The ramen arrived, and the Chunin thanked Teuchi, snapping open his chopsticks. Naruto grinned at him and reached over to pour his old teacher a cup of sake. Iruka smiled at him. "And here I was thinking the maturity side of you was extinct," he said, fondly ruffling the blonde's hair.

Naruto's grin widened - he was grateful for the affectionate gesture; times were busy and he had not been seeing his friends as much as he would have preferred. Everyone was occupied with their training and preparing for the Jonin exams; those not taking the exam were helping those that were with their training. They had occasional group training sessions, and Naruto sometimes attended those. Although they would be pitted against each other in the exams and it was not exactly wise to reveal your skills to your future opponents, the old classmates took no competitive aspect in the exam – it was just a step one took to advance with life, nothing more and definitely nothing worth damaging friendships over.

Iruka seemed to have been thinking along the same lines as Naruto. Halfway into his ramen, he gulped down the cup of sake and turned to regard the boy with a slightly bemused smile. "I believe the Jonin exams are coming up soon…I hope you aren't spending your time _here_ when you should be training."

"Bite your tongue, young man!" Teuchi remarked good-naturedly, overhearing the comment.

"Ah…I think time has not been kind on me," Iruka said, smiling. "I'm not quite 'young' anymore."

Naruto inhaled his ramen and called for a small platter of dango. "Don't let Guy-sensei hear you saying that," he joked. Then, in a deeper voice, he added, "Look into my eyes and see the fires of youth burn – also notice my handsomely manly features!" Then he flashed a convincing 'Guy grin' and flicked out a thumbs-up. He grinned. "How was that?" he asked in his normal voice. "I practiced that for a week or two."

"Good…very good," Iruka nodded. He was still puzzled over the fact that Naruto had called Guy 'sensei' and at such a casual mentioning. Then it occurred to him. "Have you been training with Guy lately?"

"Yeah – I have. I asked him to help me with my taijutsu; took a hell of a convincing, he did – and it wasn't until I begged Kakashi-sensei to challenge him that Bushy Brows Senior actually accepted. Hang on…" Naruto shoved a stick of dango into his mouth and bent over his knees to roll up the legs of his trousers. Iruka peered down to see a band wrapped tightly around the boy's ankle, several metal plates imbedded into it. "See? I'm wearing his weights – been wearing them for a month or so and they keep getting heavier. But I'm sort of used to them now."

The older man was genuinely impressed; during any previous events that Naruto had stopped by the Academy and then run off again, Iruka had noticed that the boy had, if any, gotten much more agile than he had once been. Given that he had actually been wearing weights, Iruka was curious to see the effects of Guy's training – it thrilled the Chunin to think that Naruto may even become as strong as Rock Lee, who was commended for his taijutsu and speed. Of course, Sasuke had also achieved such speed in a month…

Iruka turned away from Naruto, as if fearing that the boy would overhear his thoughts on his raven-haired teammate. Sasuke was a very sore topic for Naruto and his friends. Even around Kakashi, whom Iruka still associated with on a regular basis, they were careful to censor their mentioning of the Uchiha. Iruka felt his mood settling on a lower plane. Sasuke may have left, but he seemed to have taken a part of his friends with him. If only the revenge-driven boy could realise that so many people cared about him, that life was too short to spend blinded by hatred…if only.

If only he understood all of the above, Sakura Haruno would not be lying comatose in the hospital.

It saddened Iruka to think that a boy that he himself had nurtured into the world of shinobi had taken such a drastic turn in loyalty and conscience. Before the incident, the Chunin had truly believed that Sasuke was simply misguided and would eventually return to his village, knowing that home was with his friends. But he hadn't, and he had hurt those who cared about him. And, if anything, Sakura was the one who cared most deeply about him.

A hand waved in front of Iruka's distant gaze. "Yo – Iruka-sensei? Getting a bit drowsy there?"

The older man snapped to attention and shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts. "Possibly," he laughed. "I _am _getting old, after all." He realised that, if he peered down hard enough, he could see Naruto's hidden pain. It had always been there, of course, driven by isolation – it was just much more evident now. Kakashi's Team Seven could not be described as the most cooperative of the graduate classes, but it was now broken in such a way that it was near impossible to piece the shattered fragments back together. Naruto was so desperately clinging to the small shards, hoping that they would make a difference.

By now, the dango had disappeared and Naruto was bending the sticks into shapes. "Not as old as Granny Tsunade."

"Is there the slightest hint of respect in that comment?" Iruka challenged. He had, by now, grown accustomed to Naruto's strange choice of expressing respect. He had named the three people he held infinite reverence to 'Old Man', 'Pervy Sage' and 'Granny'. The Chunin wondered if it was respect on a higher or lower plane that had excused him from an equally humiliating form of address.

Naruto shrugged and added another folded stick to his picture, forming the Leaf symbol. "Maybe," he said in a mischievous tone, and for a moment, Iruka could see the twelve year old who would confess to have added expired milk to the Chunin's morning tea and would snigger while his teacher rushed to the male bathroom that had coincidentally decided to switch signs with the female counterpart of the rooms.

"I have to go back to the Academy soon," Iruka said, as he finished his bowl of ramen. "Really, Naruto, how is your training going? Do you have confidence with the Jonin exams?" A part of him was proud that his preferred student was climbing the steps to his dream; another part was undeniably envious that he was being bested in rank by the very boy who had been last in his graduating class. Iruka squashed down such negative emotions.

"Loads," Naruto replied with poise. "I'm acing that puny test. I'm not going to fall down in front of Neji. Believe it!"

Iruka laughed and patted his student's shoulder as he got up from his seat. "Sure I do. You'll pass the exam, Naruto, I'm sure. Now, I have to get back before the kids wreck havoc. Come drop by before the exams and we'll go meet up with Konohamaru before his team goes on a mission."

Naruto's lips curved into a fond smile. "That kid…he's grown up."

"So have you."

"Well, don't tell you expected anything less." Then, as Iruka waved a hand in farewell and started to walk away, he remembered. "Wait! Iruka-sensei!" He hurriedly paid for their meal and jogged up to the older man.

"What – don't you have enough to pay for the two of us?" Iruka highly doubted that, seeing as he seemed to have imparted some of his economical habits to Naruto.

"Nah – I just wanted to ask you if you still have some photos of my graduating class."

* * *

If there was one thing Tsunade despised more than losing at the local gambling stop and running out of sake at the same time, it would be paperwork. She loathed the miniscule fonts that would cage her in her office for the majority of the day. As Hokage, every mission, every trade and exchange with other countries had to be approved by her. Most of the time, she barely read them, simply signing her consent and shoving the piece to join those that had preceded it. The Council didn't care how she did it, what she did with it – as long as she got the job done, there were no complaints.

They were fools if they believed that Tsunade - granddaughter of the First Hokage, accomplished medic-nin and the Leaf Village's current Hokage – would actually abide by rules of any sort.

There were many reasons for her frequent abandoning of her duties. Firstly, Tsunade was, put simply, not bothered. Another point others might argue was that she was much too addicted to her status as the Legendary Sucker to abandon it for good. But lastly – and it commonly offended her to realise that anyone rarely considered this an excuse – was that her student, her apprentice, was currently part of the Sleeping Dead and had been for months now.

_Fools,_ she thought to herself, wearily pushing the paperwork away from her and resting her elbows on the desk so that she could run her fingers through her loose strands of blonde hair. They didn't see her pain. They didn't understand the significance of a girl to one who had been given the immortal title of Hokage. They didn't understand, didn't realise that the great Hokage was a person too, and that she had her feelings, her emotions.

They all saw Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage who would lead the village in tranquillity for years to come.

They didn't bother trying to see Tsunade, the medic-nin who had failed to heal her own student and had deemed the girl to a possible lifetime of living death.

It wasn't guilt that consumed her in moments like these. It was pure sorrow, of the essence that only a mother could exude for a child. Truth be told, Tsunade had, at some point, considered Sakura her daughter. Since the death of the kunoichi's parents the previous year, it had been Tsunade that Sakura trusted and confided in. The same could be said for Shizune. They were her students, her daughters. And one of them was broken.

The other was knocking rapidly on the door.

Tsunade jadedly lifted her head to regard the double doors that barred her from her freedom. She sighed. How did she know it was Shizune? Simple; the young woman didn't seem to understand the word 'patience', and the Hokage knew that if she did not allow her apprentice access to the room within the next few seconds, she would most likely be signing a consent for a new door in the Tower.

"Come in," she said, settling back into her armchair to regain her poise. She noticed with a raised eyebrow that, even before the command had left her lips, the door had already been creaking open. _That girl…should I bother lecturing her this time?_

When she saw her apprentice's flustered expression, she decided negatively.

"Yes, what-"

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune gasped out.

Tsunade knew it was bad if she was not even allowed to finish her sentence. She kept a steady grip on the paranoia-prone side of her being and wished desperately that whatever the hearsay was, it wouldn't be enough to send her to the edge of sanity itself. She found herself catching her breath as she waited for Shizune's dreaded announcement.

And she waited. And waited.

Finally, she burst. "Out with it, Shizune!" she snapped, impatience jittering her nerves.

The medic-nin hesitated. "It's Sakura…"

Tsunade felt her stomach flip.

"There's…been a change in her condition…"

For whatever reason it may be, Tsunade found herself torn between joy and dread.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

"Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success." _- Oscar Wilde_

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki knew that a morning person, he did not make. As the many episodes in which he was either late for training or missing it altogether had done well to prove, he was not the first person you would expect to be awake at the cock's morning cry. No one expected him to be on time or alert at the sixth hour.

That was to say, no one could begin to expect _anything _from Naruto Uzumaki. Any expectations held toward him could be disappointed just as easily as it could be surpassed.

The nightly ANBU patrols would know this, especially those assigned Naruto's neighbourhood. On most nights, the lights of the tiny, dilapidated apartment would be extinguished and heavy snoring could be heard from the next street, often keeping the boy's neighbours awake until the landlord found enough courage – and the whim to truly bother – to tromp up to the apartment and dump a bucket of cold water over the offender.

That usually muffled the thundering, but did not put an end to it completely.

On other nights – the rare occurrences – the Uzumaki boy could be seen hunched over whatever work he may have stayed up to complete, his silhouette dancing in the low candlelight, the electricity having once again been cut off from his particular apartment.

If those ANBU had known Naruto as well as Iruka Umino or Kakashi Hatake, they would know that the boy would never deprive himself of sleep for anything less of an extremely important matter.

Naruto truly did consider his task of tremendous importance. To make a friend smile was as vital as air, and to the blonde, it meant everything. A faint smile was evident on his face as he reached for the glue. It had been present since he had arrived home from his second visit to the hospital and had started his work. That was, until he spilled the sticky paste over the leg of his pants, joining the many other stains that had managed to creep past his attentiveness.

He glared at the ruined clothing, and then sighed. He knew at once that he should have asked Iruka-sensei to help him. As the teacher knew – and had offered his assistance for this cause – his former student could handle isolation, tough missions, betrayal – anything. Just not craftwork.

His eyes itched for rest, his body aching from having once again been pummelled the lessons of youth by Might Guy and his equally enthusiastic student. Naruto persisted. He had to finish it tonight. Otherwise it would become distraction for him, and he needed to train hard for the Jonin exams. He could not afford to be sidetracked. And, more importantly, he had promised to give it to her tomorrow and a friend was worth more than a sleepless night.

So Naruto Uzumaki nodded to no one in particular and reached again for the glue, prepared to do battle.

* * *

As it turned out, Naruto was the last of his friends to hear the news.

Even Konohamaru, who had taken it upon himself to risk Ebisu's berating to alert his respected 'older brother', had been among the first handful to catch wind of the latest development.

It took infinite patience and effort to rouse Naruto from his sleep, and another demand of self-control to free the blonde from his bedsheets. When, at last Konohamaru felt he had the older boy's attention, the young Sarutobi belted out the announcement.

Naruto's ears rang from the amount of abuse it had taken. However, he immediately snapped to attention upon the golden words. "Say that again," he croaked in a breathless whisper.

Konohamaru leaned in close and whispered into his ear. "Sakura. Is. Awake."

It would have taken Kakashi's skill to avoid the torpedo that had sudden snapped upward. Unfortunately, Konohamaru did not have such dexterity, and therefore copped a huge collision and a bleeding nose. But all pain and annoyance was instantly discarded when he saw Naruto leap up in pure joy. The blonde dug deep into his drawer, retrieved a scrapbook and leapt out the window.

It had been a long while since Konohamaru had seen his idol so worked up, and he realised that was the reason why he was grinning despite a bleeding nose.

Naruto was tempted to take off his weights to increase his speed as he bounced from roof to roof. The tiny ounce of responsibility still present in his system prevented him from doing so, knowing that it would result in quite a number of hours trying to recover where he had left the weighted anklets. That, however, did not stop him from literally colliding with familiar faces and pausing for a fraction of a second to shout the three blessed words to them in place of the standard apology.

Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akimichi and Kurenai Yuhi decided to forgive him. Shikamaru Nara had not bothered to take his eyes off the trailing clouds in the sky. _Good for you, Naruto_, he thought lazily, before he finally registered the throbbing ache in his foot that he could have sworn had not been there when he had previously decided to hike to the roof for some cloud-watching.

It took Naruto a painstaking total of seven minutes to arrive in the familiar foyer of Konoha Hospital. The nurses on duty barely managed to recover from the destruction of the front doors before an orange and black hurricane swept up the staircase toward Room Eighty-Four.

By now, Naruto was panting with anticipation. He had a thick album tucked under his arm, securely clutched to his side. The Grin had returned, brighter than ever. She was awake. After months of waiting, of hoping, she was finally awake. Everything would return to normal – not like he would ever admit life to have been slightly depressing during the empty absence in it.

He missed her, missed her dearly even though he visited her whenever he could. It was just not the same. She would finally see the vases he had bought for her, the designs he had carved into them. She would finally hear of him making Chunin, and be subjected to a two hour recount of the event. She would finally be there to knock some sense into him when he felt he needed it.

She would finally seem solid, real.

"Granny Tsunade!" he yelled at the top of his voice when he saw the woman outside Room Eighty-Four. Had he been paying closer attention, he might have noticed the strange lack of positive emotion in the medic-nin's face.

Tsunade turned to see Naruto pelting up the hallway. She felt a groan escape her lips. It was the last thing she needed. She and Shizune did their best to barricade him. "Naruto, I don't think-" But he slipped right past him, ever-present grin on his face as he smashed through the door and into the room.

"Sakura! Man, I'm so glad you're done sleeping! Great timing too; the Jonin exams are next week – you might be able to take part! Oh yeah, I made Chunin! Let's-" It took Naruto a moment to register the strange silence, and when he did, he bit off whatever had been lined up to race out of his mouth to regard his teammate with curiosity. "Sakura?"

She was sitting on the bed, leaning against a mountain of pillows. Her hair, grown just past her shoulders in the passing months, hung limply around her pale face. She raised her head, and then lowered it just as quickly, one hand pressed to her eyes. Naruto blinked. Her eyes. Was it just him or was there something different about them? He couldn't pinpoint what it was. _Maybe it's just me…_

Before he could even begin to formulate his next words, a hand grabbed and pulled him out to the corridor. When he turned in protest, Tsunade gave him a shake of her head, and it was enough to silence him. Shizune took his place inside the room, closing the door, which now hung slightly off its hinges.

"What's the big deal, Granny?" Naruto demanded. He pointed a somewhat accusing finger at his superior, and then turned his arm so that he was jabbing at the closed door. "What's wrong with Sakura?"

"Shut up."

"What?"

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, kid, I have a headache. Quit making it worse."

Naruto hesitated – but only for a moment. "So Sakura…"

"Is blind." That said, Tsunade turned her back to the blonde boy and let him deal with his own emotions as she fought to deal with hers.

Silence was often deafening in its own way. Naruto had never grasped the concept of the saying, but now he did. It shaped reality, let the seriousness of a situation sink in. And it sunk in deep. He stared at Tsunade's back, the kanji on the back of her robe blurring from his sight. He waited for the woman to turn, laugh and tell him exactly how gullible he could be sometimes. But she did not, and when he remembered the blankness in Sakura's face – in her eyes – he knew that she was not pulling his leg.

"What…do you mean?" he managed to choke out. He felt a horrible retake of Konohamaru's shouted words earlier; Sakura. Is. Awake - Sakura. Is. Blind.

Tsunade felt the boy's pain. She was drowning in her own misery, struggling to come to terms with the harsh reality. Her apprentice – her daughter – was blinded. Not only had Tsunade allowed her to lapse into a comatose state, she had also been unable to detect a slight trace of venom. Guilt overwhelmed her, but as Hokage, she knew that blame on oneself was no help to anyone.

"Granny?" Naruto persisted in a whispery tone. "How…why…" _You're the best bloody medic-nin in history! _he shouted mentally. _Don't just stand there! Do something about it!_ But the pain he felt rolling off the old woman prevented him from letting the harmful words slip from his mouth in animosity. He knew that, in her own way, Tsunade was hurting. It would not be fair to accuse her – she had put in her best efforts, and if that was not enough, there was not much _he _could do.

Deep breaths heaved in, their shallow counterpart escaping her lips. Tsunade closed her eyes. The boy had the right to know. The Hokage knew from the hospital's weekly reports that he visited his comatose teammate as often as the Legendary Sucker did the gambling stops. She did not want to hurt him, but she knew that she was doing the most harm by keeping him in the dark.

"In Sakura's battle with Sasuke," she began in a soft tone, and heard Naruto's sharp intake of breath at the Uchiha's name. She pressed on, "she suffered various wounds. The one you would know best would be the Chidori that she suffered to her lower back, damaging her nervous system as well as spinal movement. As you know, we have repaired the damage, but the cost was a state of comatose, which was much more desirable than the alternative."

Naruto had unconsciously closed his hands into tight fists, his nails digging deep into his palm. It was always difficult to stand the mention of Sasuke. He didn't hate his runaway teammate. It was unmistakeable that it was the Uchiha's doing that had cost Sakura months of her life as well as her eyesight, but Naruto could not bring himself to hate him. Instead, he felt a spear of sympathy strike his heart. A person who did not understand the significance of friendship did not understand the way of life. The moment Sasuke had chosen to lay a harmful hand on Sakura, he had torn away a small portion of his conscience.

Tsunade turned and noticed the blonde's shoulders shaking under his jacket. "Should I go on?" she asked. Although she had complete confidence in Naruto's self-control, she could not say the same for his prisoner.

"Yes," he said, and gave her a small smile to assure her. "I'm fine. No point getting worked up over a jerk."

Respecting his need to hide his conflicting emotions, Tsunade nodded. "Among other wounds were bite marks – snakes."

Naruto flinched. Snakes. A painful reminder that Sasuke had run off with a certain slithery Sannin.

"Snakes," Tsunade said again, seeing the blonde's distraction. "When we were…operating, we found no apparent trace of poison – it seemed that Sakura had attempted to drain it herself. She hadn't completely erased all the poison from her system, but the amount was too small for us to detect." It was another blow to her conscience. "The months she spent in the comatose state gave the venom opportunity to spread. It damaged her optic nerves, and it was enough to reduce her…blind."

"There's nothing you can do?" It was a futile question. Of course there was nothing that could be done – or they would have done it.

Tsunade's answer was to turn away again. She could not bear to look at the boy anymore. There were many factors – many if onlys – that contributed to the situation. If only she had checked up on Sakura's condition herself more frequently than she had. If only Sakura had managed to drain all the poison out of her body. If only she had not been in a coma for the past few months. If only Sasuke had not turn against Konoha and his friends. If only Sakura had not insisted on pursuing him after the first sighting. If only damned Orochimaru had not handed the Uchiha the snake contract.

All if onlys. All irremediable.

Naruto felt his head drop. Crushing disappointment settled on him.

It took him a while to deduce how Sakura must be feeling.

"Can I go in and see her?" he asked in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

Although it appeared to be further back than her appearance suggested, Tsunade had, at some point, been a child before. She understood that there were times when everything seemed to work out – and times when the opposite would occur. When that happened, the person did not want to talk. He or she simply wanted to be left alone to whatever they desired to do. Naruto Uzumaki had those symptoms. And, as a medic-nin, Tsunade prescribed only the best medicine.

She walked up to the door, knocked once, and then opened it. Shizune was sitting on the edge of Sakura's bed, talking softly to her. She looked up when her superior entered, shaking her head. "I tried," she mouthed. Tsunade nodded, and the two of them went outside, closing the door behind Naruto and Sakura.

The word 'awkward' was, most times, not present in Naruto's dictionary. He did not believe in anything less than 'confidence', and it surprised him to find himself in such a situation. He had nothing to say – there was nothing he _could_ say. Sympathy often produced the opposite result with Sakura, and he was not the right person to offer such sentiments to begin with.

In the end, it was Sakura – surprisingly – who stepped up to an unseen opportunity. "Naruto?" she said in a tentatively soft voice. Naruto felt himself wince; she sounded so alone, so vulnerable. He was instantly ashamed. She needed his support, and here he was being weak.

"Yeah," he said, placing the scrapbook on a spare chair by the door. "It's me."

Her expression brightened, but only very slightly. He found himself staring at her eyes, knowing that the pale emeralds could not see him. They were milky jades, blinking but unseeing.

"Naruto…I…" Her voice wobbled as she gripped the bedsheets. "I'm…"

"I know." He could not bring himself to say it. It would hurt her, and it was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment. To tell her, to the face, that she was blind, was more than an insult. It was betrayal. Naruto Uzumaki would sooner give up ramen than betray a friend.

Sakura's world was filled with darkness. Where there had been colour, there was only endless black. She felt certain that, if anaesthetic were to be injected into her, she would have no idea if her eyes were opened or closed. Only others would be able to tell her.

But that was useless. They could not see for her.

The pink-haired kunoichi felt her breath choke. Even without Shizune sitting by her side, futilely assuring her that it did not matter and that she would, sooner or later, overcome this 'recent development', she knew that it was doing nobody any good by wishing that time could go back and she could rethink her actions. She also knew that, if given the chance to return to the past, she would still choose to go after Sasuke, still choose to be blinded if it meant she could see him one last time, to plead him to return. It was no use wallowing in self-pity.

That was not to say that she actually listened to the sensible side of herself.

Sakura Haruno might not belong to a clan, such as the Hyuga and Uchiha, that practiced their bloodline of dōjutsu, but her eyesight meant as much to her as it did to such clans. It was with the very same eyesight now foreign to her that she had blinked and stared her way into the world at birth. It had been her eyes that had taught her to admire boys such as Sasuke, to see the 'cute' significance in their features and the 'coolness' in their detached attitude. It was her eyes that surveyed the damage to her patients, that told her the distance between her fist and the soon-to-be-demolished object, giving her precise information as to where and when to release her chakra.

She needed to be able to see.

But she couldn't.

And it crushed her to realise so.

She slipped out of the bed to stand on shaky legs, limbs that had not been used for months and were unaccustomed to the weight they bore. They were, however, surprisingly supple compared to those of patients she had previously attended to. She knew instinctively that someone had, with painstaking patience and care, gently exercised her muscles on a regular basis, to keep them from solidifying permanently and decaying into grey mass.

Naruto was there somewhere, hidden in the darkness. He had to be there. She reached out to find him.

It pained him to see her in such a state. Her eyes had flashed from side to side, as if unbelieving that they had been shrouded in a word of pitch blackness. Then, very slowly, she had hauled herself out of the bed. He almost reached out to help her. Almost. But he knew she did not want his assistance. She might in the future, but not presently. Sakura was much too strong-willed to succumb easily. It was not until she saw the futileness in her efforts that she crumpled.

He waited for that moment.

She thought she could sense a hint of chakra ahead of her. Hesitantly, she lifted a heavy arm to grasp the air. She raised her other arm, and this time she brushed against fabric. She gripped it tightly, unwilling to release her prize.

"You got me," he said quietly.

She nodded. "I did," she whispered. Then she let her hand drop and she leaned against his sturdy frame, suddenly too tired to attempt anything at all. The game of hide and seek wore her out.

When she realised that it was the way she would have to live the rest of her life, she let out soft moan.

Naruto had not imagined it to be like this. He placed one hand against the trembling back, the other sweeping buckled knees from the linoleum tiles. She barely uttered a yelp of surprise as her feet left the floor. She just clung to him, face buried in the arm of his sleeve, as he carried her to the bed and gently deposited her onto the mattress. Then he went to the door and picked up the album he had left on the chair, taking the scrapbook to the bed.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked in a small voice, uncertainly.

"Right here, Sakura," he replied. He sat down beside her, and then drew the sheet over them, settling it over their heads like they were children and were huddling together in the middle of the night waiting for the creation of their nightmares to creep up on them.

He opened the album and laid it across her lap. "This was supposed to be your birthday present. I was going to give it to you today and wait until you woke up before we went through it together, but let's do it today. I made sure you didn't miss out on anything while you were busy catching up on your beauty sleep."

She choked. "Naruto, I…" _I'm blind. I can't see whatever you want to show me._

It was the first time he ignored her. He gently lifted her hand and placed it over a photograph on the first page of the book. "This was two months ago. Kiba's sister got married and we were having a party."

Sakura's fingers brushed over the glossy surface. She thought she could recognise the texture of the photograph even if Naruto had not pointed it out to her. But she couldn't be sure. Without her eyes, she would never be sure of anything ever again.

Seeing her hand wander aimlessly, Naruto guided it back to the left side of the photo. "This is Kiba and Akamaru – the mutt got loads bigger." He quietly moved her hand to the next person, frozen in a smile. "That's Hinata; she's still having trouble talking to me, would you believe? And here's Bushy Brows – he got had a little bit to drink and ended up going into this crazy fit, even managing to knock Neji around for a bit. Guy-sensei says he's one of those guys who end up fighting better than they usually do when they're drunk – strange bloke."

This process continued over the next few pages, and Sakura found it harder to swallow with each event they went over.

"…and Granny Tsunade got sick of losing so she dragged me along to the gambling stop and I won her double what she lost. She made Shizune take a photo because she said it was bound to be the only time she was seen together with a big bunch of winnings. There were all these coins everywhere – she kept dropping them when we were walking back to the tower."

When they turned the page, a drop of fluid slid down Sakura's face and dripped onto the parchment, blurring one of the rare smiles Neji offered, especially for a photo. Naruto did not feel the least bit guilty for reducing his friend to tears; she needed to let it out. He did it often enough.

"It's okay to cry, Sakura," he murmured, and let her bury her face into his jacket. It was one of the only times he had seen her cry and he realised just how strong Sakura had been trying to be all this time. She had tried so hard to prove herself more than a pretty face; becoming Tsunade's apprentice and striving to hide her pain whenever Sasuke just managed to come up in a conversation. She had tried so hard to be strong.

And now they were back to square one. Naruto did not dare try to fantasize the dozen others that awaited Sakura's challenge. But he assured himself, and his broken friend, that she would not be alone throughout the whole process.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

* * *

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." – _Helen Keller_

* * *

Tsunade made no effort to hide the fact that she loathed her office, absolutely hating the responsibilities and duties that came with the spacious room. The floor was coated with carpet – a décor that had not been there until recently, triggered by complaints from the lower levels of the tower about the frighteningly frequent earthquakes that shook them, a result of the fiery Hokage getting sick of her work and sweeping them off her table – but it seemed only to succeed in giving the room a dirty, unattended to feel. Papers, scrolls, empty sake bottles – you name it; it'd be there.

As it was, there happened to be an unnameable amount of forms awaiting her. It not only nauseated her, but would also deter her from her current task. So she put it off until later.

And given the ferocity of the pounding headache she was having at the moment, it would be _much _later until she finally decided to glance over them.

It had not taken the blonde woman much to drag Naruto from the hospital. It both surprised and pleased her; the surprise being the boy's willingness to leave his friend in such a vulnerable state; the pleasure erupting from pride of knowing that Naruto Uzumaki had, at last, decided to grow up.

Both emotions went out like water on fire when he told her that he would not be taking the Jonin exams next week.

"I can't leave her like this," he said in a painstakingly stubborn tone. He stood directly opposite her, arms folded over his chest and his brow furrowed. "Did you see the state she was in today? How the hell do you expect me to do this goddamn test if I know I'm going to be worrying about her half the time? I might as well save the effort and pitch it in next year. At least then I can take it with her."

Tsunade regarded him with a steely gaze. She had known Naruto long enough – snuck out of her office to treat him to ramen – to have dug her way into his personality. Once the blonde decided on something, nothing – _nothing _– was going to deter him from doing just that. The whole of Konoha knew that. If he wanted to ditch the Jonin exams, he would.

It was a shame, the Hokage thought to herself, sighing heavily. She had been looking forward to Naruto's promotion. He had worked hard, and whatever the outcome he achieved, it should certainly not be taken lightly. She wanted to see him succeed. Konohamaru had announced it himself – he would be the seventh Hokage and Naruto the sixth. The blonde would make it. Regardless of what he had to overcome, nothing would stand between him and his dream.

Tsunade had earned her title as the Legendary Sucker, but she knew that this was a bet she would not lose.

"Naruto…this…" She shook her head. No, she would not knowingly choose to collide headlong with Konoha's hardest skullhead. "This is official. Your response will now have the capacity to remove you from the upcoming Jonin exams. I ask you one last time; Naruto Uzumaki, is it within your wish and will to remove yourself from the exam listings?" She despised the formality as much as she did the paperwork. Of course, she could have done it the easy way and simply crossed his name off. But for some reason, Tsunade could not bring herself to be cheerful, to jump up and give the boy an eventful noogie.

As the medic-nin had long since learnt, it was much simpler dealing with difficulties with no emotion in mind.

And hell, Tsunade just happened to be the worst partner for Emotion.

His arms lowered to his sides, the weights clinking together to remind him of his months of training. He had promised Lee that he 'would not let the flames of youth within him extinguish'. Naruto had no intention of doing so. He just had not decided to 'let his youth flare' this year.

Naruto Uzumaki paid regular visits to a dimension in which there were always two decisions to be made. It was everywhere, everyday; waking or sleeping in to risk Kakashi at his door; another round of ramen and the wellbeing of his Gama-chan; giving Guy a piece of his mind or succumbing to the fifty rounds around Konoha he had been assigned – Naruto knew all about split decisions.

_Ding ding! On one side, we have the great Jonin Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage! On the other, we have his blind, recently awoken best friend who desperately needs a sturdy companion to lean on! May the best conscience win!_

_POW!_

"Just get me off that stupid list already," he said in a light, even tone. "I'll take it next year."

She had deduced as much. And, coincidence or not, the stack of paperwork for the Jonin exams just happened to be in a neat pile – the only one in the room – in the top corner of her desk. Sighing, she reached forward and shifted through the participants, her eyes hardening as she pulled out Naruto Uzumaki's file. She handed it to him.

"Last page. Fill it out."

"Right."

But the grip Tsunade maintained on the file was among the kind she used when she lost her last bettings at the gambling stop.

Hazel eyes met sapphire. "This is your last chance, you know."

"Is not," he replied. "Shikamaru and Kiba are taking it next year – it's not like it's the last Jonin exam ever held here. Chill, old lady; it's not the end of the world."

He was right. She did not know why she was making such an over-exaggerated deal over it. It was not the end of the world.

Right?

Tsunade would never admit it aloud, but she had developed a motherly affection for Naruto, the same kind she had produced for Sakura. She did not want to see him hurt. She would rather he took the exam here, in Konoha, where nothing perpetually dangerous would slip past her watchful eye. There was no guarantee that the Jonin exams would be held in the Leaf Village next year; she had heard that Kirigakure was pitching in a considerable amount of effort in earning the role of host for the next exams. The village had been known in the past for its inhumane version Genin exam, and Tsunade worried that such ferocity would cause harm to turn its eye on Naruto.

She knew that Sakura, if she ever decided to resume her career as a kunoichi, would most likely enter next year's Jonin exams as well. She worried for them both, knowing that young birds tended to injure their wings early. Tsunade had lost a number of people whom she held dear to her…it pained her even to think of them. The thought of the two youngsters joining the list forced the blood from her face. Sakura would be safer if Naruto were by her side, but, as Tsunade had learnt, the more you betted, the more you lost.

She sighed and loosened her grip, allowing the thin file to slide past her fingers. Once Naruto had opened and flipped it to the last page, she sank back in her armchair, in apparent defeat.

It was written down in legend that the Nine-Tailed Fox, the demon terror of Konoha, had taken the Fourth's life to defeat and seal away.

It seemed that the Fox's host had just as much trouble understanding the word 'no'.

Each file of the Chunin participants for the upcoming Jonin exam contained one page at the back, identical in each case, that was to be completed and filed if the respective Chunin decided to pull out of the exams, or if the Kage of their village decided that he or she was incapable or forbidden to attend. Naruto dug through the desk for a pen, and then moved to write against the wall, pressing the paper against the hard surface, knowing without looking that Tsunade's desk barely had enough space to accommodate anything larger than a pencil tin.

He was fairly aware that the form was supposed to be completed by a Kage, stating consent. But Naruto by now knew that Tsunade would sooner abandon the title of Hokage than needlessly be subjected to paperwork when a Chunin was more than capable of handling it himself, and was currently present to do so.

Tsunade kept a steady eye on him, her chin rested on her folded hands. "Will you be going down to the hospital after this?"

"Yeah…you?"

"Later. Shizune is currently keeping her company." She absently fiddled with the empty sake bottle on her desk, twirling it on one finger. "Shizune has to leave for a C-ranked mission as the Leaf's ambassador in two hours. Sakura needs our support at the moment. Do you-"

"Think I can keep her company for the night?" he predicted, flinging a glance over his shoulder at her. "Sure I can. And while we're on it…"

"Great," Tsunade answered, unaware that the blonde had yet to spring a startling announcement on her. The jug continued its endless circuit. _Hmm…I suppose I could drop by that one-eyed freak's poker game after I see Sakura…Shizune won't be there to stop me…_

"I was thinking Sakura might be able to live with me for the time being."

Had Tsunade's jug and mouth been filled, warm sake would have spewed over the mahogany desk and its contents. In its place, a mouth dropped open and the jug toppled off her finger, clattering to the ground, its impact muffled by the thick carpet.

"WHAT?"

Naruto had a bad experience with women who spoke at such an incredulously high volume. He jumped and managed to scrawl a line across the form with a snapped pen. Cowering against the wardrobe, he asked timidly, "What? What'd I do?"

Patience was a virtue. So was tranquillity. Unfortunately for Naruto, Tsunade possessed neither.

"You…Sakura – you're…" She couldn't choke out a complete sentence. Her face had by now reached an alarming shade of scarlet, her blond pigtails seemingly hovering above her like a crackling halo. Naruto cringed and trembled.

"Just as friends," he said hastily, grappling the form and clutching it to him like it would shield him from whatever Tsunade was bound to throw at him. Hell, he didn't even know what he did! Just because the granny happened to think like the Pervy Sage.

It took Tsunade a little over two minutes to realise that Naruto had, in fact, not been speaking aloud the disturbing images she had assumed he had been. Huffing, she sat back down, she glared irritably at him. No wonder the boy got into so much trouble with the villagers – sealed demon in his stomach aside. He just did not know how to voice his thoughts without flashing misunderstood signals to his audience.

"You could have said that early," she snapped, somehow finding the audacity to overlook the need to apologise or explain herself. "Now you got me all worked up for nothing."

"Geez, Granny Tsunade," Naruto said, sighing in apparent relief.

"Don't call me that!" The sake jug was suddenly in her hand again. Naruto fumbled and ended up catching it with his face.

"Yes, your Hokageship," he mumbled behind the ceramic.

Tsunade felt slightly better after she hurled her pencil tin across the room, its pointed contents slicing through the air and thudding into the wall behind Naruto, leaving behind a tiny cut on his cheek.

She sat down and cleared her throat. "Now as I was saying-"

"You weren't saying anything," Naruto muttered under his breath, rubbing at his cheek even as the wound started to close.

"_As _I was saying," she said again, and this time the tone in her voice was venomous. "I don't see why Sakura should stay with you when she has a reliable sensei and mentor such as I to accommodate her."

It did not take very long for Naruto to shift into a serious mood. "Go down to the hospital now, take a look at her, and tell me if she's ready to spend hours in a pigsty of a house-"

"Tonton _does _live with me," Tsunade protested half-heartedly, though she knew full well that the two bedroom apartment - complete with cracked floorboards, a grimy kitchen and equally grotesque bathroom – was not fully capable of winning the title Konoha's Tidiest House. It was the consequences one had to pay for refusing accommodation in the Hokage Tower.

But what did the Council expect? She couldn't possibly live in the place her dead grandfather and sensei had, given the memories that would accompany the suite.

"-with a lady who is either buried under a mountain of paperwork, half-drunk or running off to go play with a bunch of no-brainer card dealers? That's not what she needs – and I doubt that's what she would _want _either."

"There's Shizune…" the medic-nin offered, but her voice sounded weak even to her.

"Who is really nice and is bound to take good care of Sakura," Naruto agreed. Then he shrugged. "Too bad her 'Lady Tsunade' often happens to drag her off to clean up the office or some other lame job like that." Naruto's tone softened. "Come on, granny; trust me. I'll take good care of Sakura. You know the last thing I'd ever do is hurt her."

She did know that – and it was the reason why she happened to hate herself so much at the moment.

As a mentor and surrogate mother, Tsunade did not think much of Sakura spending her days with a hyperactive, loudspeaker-volumed ball of energy – who just happened to be an irresponsible _guy_. But, as Hokage, she also knew that the said ball of energy happened to have the best methods of assurance and confidence-building. One could always count on Naruto Uzumaki, Kami's gift to the silent.

"Shit," she murmured, chuckling unconvincingly. "That's another form to fill out."

But today, she just could not bring herself to care.

* * *

Shizune worked in the hospital…yet it did not mean she loved it. Dedication to one's occupation and interest was not to be confused with affection for the location at which such duty was performed. While she was working, the pained cries and subdued grunts seemed muffled, barely registering to her. When she so happened to drop by in her free time to visit Sakura or pick up some forms for Lady Tsunade, she could see why civilians and shinobi alike – Naruto in particular – held resentment and nervousness close to them when entering the white-bricked building.

There was a standard tension in the atmosphere; a mixture of waiting and predictable anxiety. The medical forces were about as important to a village as its shinobi. Medic-nins were given breaks, rest days and shifts, but when the wounded entered the double doors, they were expected to abandon everything. Shizune was certain that if she parted her lips to sample the air, she would register a faint amount of anticipation.

She could tell by the quiet conversation held behind the registration desk that the hospital currently had no operations running. Even as she smiled and nodded at the nurses and received the same response, she could not help but notice their occasional glances to the doorway, and could not resist doing the same herself.

It was silly, she told herself. It was silly, deadly serious and strangely satisfying. Shizune's interest came in the form of saving others' lives, sealing wounds and keeping the village healthy. It was her duty to heal.

Yet, as miraculous and great as the place was, the hospital was not the right place for one like Sakura. Shizune climbed the staircase and walked quietly down the hallway toward Room Eighty-Four. It was eerily silent. Sakura's comatose condition had placed her in a side wing of the hospital, well away from the forever ready and urgent half of the hospital. It was a wonder the girl could stand the stifling silence. Shizune could not bear it.

Still, she made herself smile as she stopped outside the door, one hand clutching a paper bag, the other raised in a loose fist to knock on the wood. She would always smile for her 'sister', even if Sakura could not see the affectionate gesture. She knocked gently on the door and eased it open.

"Sakura? It's me; Shizune. I got something for us to eat."

Her head turned, the glazed eyes brushing over the medic-nin. 'I can see that' she wanted to say. But she couldn't. Because, truthfully, she could not see anything at all.

"Hello," Sakura said in a quiet, subdued voice. Shizune had left Tonton behind when she had gone out to buy lunch. The pig had fallen asleep on the pink-haired kunoichi's lap, and she laid a hand on the warm back, feeling the small body rise and fall.

Shizune smiled and closed the door behind her. "I ran into Anko halfway and she insisted I try the new dango stand two streets from Ichiraku's." She unrolled the paper bag and reached in to take out a dango stick. She held it beside Sakura's hand, gently nudging her. "Here. You must be hungry."

Sakura did not move at first. She did not trust herself not to cause a catastrophe over a simple stick of dango. Truth be told, she did not trust herself at all. She had tried standing and walking after Shizune had left. The movement had morphed into a fluid accomplishment since she had last attempted it. But it was still hard. Although she was well aware that the hospital's rooms were not at all tiny or over-cluttered, she did not dare advance more than three hesitant steps in fear that she might not be able to find her way back to the bed.

It was painful to recognise the younger girl's hesitation and apparent fear. Shizune bit her lip and resisted the urge to feed her herself. Sakura needed to understand that she was not useless, that she was more than capable of achieving what she had been able to muster before. She could not be taught to rely on others to guide her. Not to mention that such an ordeal had crushed the girl's confidence and sense of security.

From Shizune's experience, deafness was much preferred to loss of eyesight. If the world of sound was forever forbidden to you, there was always lip-reading to fall back on. There would be setbacks, disappointments – but not as many as that of complete and utter blindness. Sakura had lost her view of the world so suddenly and easily. It would take time to accept it. For someone who had relied on their eyes for as long as they could remember, it was unnerving and frightening to be plunged into a world of darkness. Shizune had been kidnapped once, an eventful night in her ninth year. A missing-nin had recognized Tsunade from his bingo book and had decided to lure the Sannin into a carefully set trap. His first initiative: use the girl as bait. Shizune had been blindfolded and held in a cold, dark place for three hours before Tsunade came to rescue her. She never spoke about the experience, and never wanted to go through it ever again.

She realised now that Sakura would have to live every day of her life the way Shizune had passed the Horrific Three Hours.

"Come on," the medic-nin said gently. She lifted Sakura's hand and wrapped the fingers around the thin bamboo stick. "You need to eat."

_No…I need to see…_

Tonton squirmed and nestled into another comfortable position. Sakura gripped the stick in her hand. For someone who had been asleep for the past three months, her appetite was strangely empty. She closed her eyes, knowing they would make no difference.

Sakura Haruno had a habit of thinking. She always found reason to think, to sink into an oblivion where there were no disruptions and her thoughts were free to wander, to be questioned and discarded. She wondered many things. She wondered why she seemed to be the weakest of her graduating class, with no particular family techniques. She wondered where Naruto got his strength from – his determination, perhaps? She wondered if Tsunade-sensei would be able to restore her eyesight, though she had deduced that if such method were possible, it would already have been attempted. And lastly, Sakura wondered why she had loved a person who would induce harm on her.

Her mind and body felt strangely numb at the mention of her long-time crush and former teammate. He appeared as a silhouette in her mind's eyes, shadowed by a hidden light shining from the hopes of her own conscience. She could not bring herself to blot out and completely forget him, knowing that it would do more harm than good. He was - if not the boy she had pictured him to be – still a friend, no different to Naruto. She wanted to forgive him, yet he gave her no chance to do so. Time and time again, he had refused her various offers, ranging from joining him in becoming a missing-nin to getting down on her knees, her arms around his waist, to beg him to return to the village, and its people who desperately longed for his presence to be among them once more.

Shizune was often the quiet observer, the one able to decipher the body's many codes. The slightest twitch of a muscle could mean muffled pain or annoyance. A distant look in the eyes would tell its audience that it would not be the best time to interrupt. But Sakura's eyes were glazed for eternity, unseeing and unfeeling, and the girl was sitting stock still, pulling off a posture of rigidness worthy of challenging the Hokage Stone.

It worried the medic-nin to see the girl she had long since started seeing as a younger sister seeming so misguided and undecided with her own decisions. Shizune did not appreciate being helpless. She was not one to sit by and watch another while they writhed in their own silent pain. And even on the occasions that she happened to be that bystander, she often distracted herself from the reality of the situation.

She glanced over Sakura. The girl's face was as it was three months ago. The only difference between the pink-haired girl that had laughed and bade Shizune farewell back then and the emotionless stranger that sat before her was the expression. The smooth, blank emotion on her face was not entirely recognisable. Her hair, longer than Shizune remembered it to be, hung limply by her side, as pale and lifeless as that it adorned. Barely thinking, the medic-nin reached out and touched the thin strands. Sakura gave no indication to surprise – or even the merest acknowledgement.

"Sakura?" Shizune asked softly, hesitantly – and although the younger girl responded by lifting her head toward her voice, the medic-nin decided that she would sooner live her Uncle Dan's death all over again than remain in the sightless gaze of the broken kunoichi.

She stepped back and away from the pale emerald orbs, moving around to the other side of the bed and sitting cross-legged behind Sakura. "I'll do your hair," she said, in a voice not altogether distractive, as if she truly cared that her state of hair was all the blind girl would have to worry about. "Do you want me to braid it or tie it up?"

Sakura knew the older girl was trying to give her assurance and a safe topic to tread on. Although she really did not feel like talking – or leaving the fortress of her thoughts – she replied as best as she could, not wanting to disappoint her companion. "Whatever you like," she said, in what she hoped was her normal voice and not one that cracked and formed chinks in her silent armour.

To Shizune, the three words sounded empty, indecisive and free of both true attention and the state of emotion to care.

She started on the overgrown fringe that shadowed Sakura's face. Slipping an ever present rubber band off her wrist and into her mouth, she started to braid the strands, intricately intertwining the separate threads into a single tress.

She could not deny that, deep down, she was holding a tiny amount of hope, as if she could bring together the shattered fragments of the girl back into one piece by practicing such on the art of hairdressing.

"Did Lady Tsunade perform a diagnostic?" Shizune asked quietly, deliberately leaving out the 'on you' at the end of the question to avoid misconception of pointing out Sakura as a patient and one who required specific attention. She knew that such as the last thing the pink-haired kunoichi needed.

"Yes. She said I was healthy and fine except for-" It took an immense effort not to betray to choking sensation she felt at the moment. _Except for the fact that I'm now blind and will be for the rest of my life._

Too late, Shizune realised that she should not have said anything at all. Hastily, she tried to steer away from depression. "That's good; it means you'll be out of here in no time."

"Tomorrow." And Sakura dreaded it. She was filled with trepidation at the thought of leaving the enclosed space of the hospital room – how was she expected to strive in the physical world if God forbade her to so much as register a faint inkling as to where she was going and what was in front of her? She could not force away the helplessness she felt.

She was weak. She knew that. It had taken her two years of relentless effort to master medical jutsu and her mentor's supreme strength. She had earned her status and recognition, the same way in which she now earned the right to reside among the weaker of the shinobi world. Many kunoichi were blinded; a patient she had once tended to, Izumi Fukuyama of the River Country, had been sightless and she was known among those of her village for her excellent taijutsu skills.

But Sakura had long since deduced for herself that she was not a natural genius, did not possess the undying determination Naruto did, and tended to cave in much sooner than others of her graduating team.

She assumed that it was possible to continue on her road as a kunoichi regardless of being sightless or not. She could, like most shinobi would opt to prefer, overcome her newfound weakness and compensate it with other abilities and skills. It was not miles from her grasp. She could try…yet it was difficult to take the first step. Sakura could not envisage her future – and it was not reason from being blind. She relied heavily on her eyesight; it was as important as her limbs, as intricately linked to her being that it clawed at her mind to have it torn beyond her reach.

Shizune kept her mouth firmly shut. She did not want to upset the younger girl. Her fingers weaved in and out, finishing one side of the fringe. It hung down Sakura's face, brushing against her cheekbone. The pink-haired girl hesitantly raised a hand to finger the braid.

"Thank you," she murmured.

They say that a smile often lit up a room. Shizune hoped that hers did. It was relieving and assuring to see Sakura display emotion – even one as subtle and casual as gratitude and politeness. "That's okay," the medic-nin said, settling one hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Would you like me to do the other side as well?"

"Yes please."

Shizune smiled again and moved around to work on the fringe that slated the right side of Sakura's face.

She did not know or realise that the pink-haired girl was delving into her less enthusiastic experiences.

Sakura's mother, once upon a time, woke up her young daughter early, before the girl had to run off to the Academy, to experiment with the delightful mane of pink hair she had produced in her offspring. Braids, fringes – Sakura, by the age of seven, was convinced that her mother would have made a better living opening her own hairdressing business than marrying Sakura's father. And, when Sakura decided to grow out her hair, the woman had been pleased beyond experiment.

They were gone now, dead – cold owners of the warm, gentle hands that had fondled and nurtured their daughter…

A daughter that was now blind.

As Shizune's fingers combed tenderly through the pink strands, tugging gently at her scalp, Sakura wondered how her parents would react to the knowledge that their only child had been reduced to a sightless state. Her mother would exclaim in disbelief and wave her hand in front of the unseeing orbs before finally breaking down in tears and embracing her child. Her husband would throw his arms around his family, as if such an embrace would shield them from further harm, and whisper to his daughter that she should have followed his advice and decided against becoming a kunoichi.

Sakura was grateful that they were not alive to bear her pain; the agony and despair was too heavy a weight for their slender shoulders. Only she, the first and only kunoichi in the Haruno family, would be able to bear the pressure and endure.

Sakura Haruno would face blindness by herself, and she would persevere.

No she wouldn't.

It wasn't until half an hour later, when she was gathering Tonton in her arms and preparing for her C-ranked mission, that Shizune realised that Sakura had not eaten her dango.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

* * *

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." – _Helen Keller_

* * *

He walked down the hallway, one hand slipped into his trouser pocket and the other threaded around a plastic bag. He whistled an aimless tune, the melody snatched away from his lips by a sudden gust of wind. It was as if nature itself had sided against his lack of expertise in the music department.

Yes, well, if, for the sake of the auditory sense, musicians were the only ones entitled to whistling, where would that leave the shinobi?

He was done whistling anyway. He stopped and knocked, opening the door to stick his head inside. "Anyone order ramen?" he asked in a singsong voice, grinning. He rustled the plastic bag.

"No," came the blunt reply.

Naruto glanced around the room, saw the discarded paper bag with a stick of dango resting on it, and could deduce how the last persuasion to food had turned out.

He shrugged and slipped inside, closing the door. He deposited the bag on a chair and leaned against the wall. "Don't you know it's rude to ignore visitors?"

"Yes."

"So? What are you going to do about knight-in-shining-armour me standing by the door?"

"Nothing much."

And Naruto grinned.

Sakura absently smoothed the blankets laid over the lower half of her body. She was well aware of the slight scowl that had twitched her lips. She also realised that she had possibly spoken more words to Naruto than she had Shizune, who had been accompanying her for a lot longer than the blonde had. It seemed to be Naruto's natural born skill to induce a smile in all those around him. His light-hearted tone gave you reason to talk, to open up. Sakura focused deeply on his voice, committing it to her memory.

From now on, it would be the only reference she had to recognizing her friend.

"I'm grinning in case you can't see."

She felt like scoffing, yet could not quite pull it off. "'In case'?" she repeated, eyebrow raised. She did not, for some reason, make a connection between the sentence and the sensitive topic of her eyesight. It seemed not to matter. With Naruto, nothing mattered.

"Is that sarcasm?" Naruto asked mockingly. After a short conversation and comparing of notes with Shizune with whom he had happened to run into upon entering the hospital, he had deduced that Sakura was not in the mood to talk. He had not expected anything less. He hadn't said it to her face, but he thought Shizune had been treading too delicately around the pink-haired girl. Sakura did not need sympathy, understanding or the acknowledgement of being compared to fragility such as glass. She needed to adapt, to accept and to move on.

Naruto thought – no, he _knew_ – that he had what it took to help her overcome whatever she decided was in her way.

After a short moment of silence that quickly flared Sakura's impatience, she said, "Where are you?" She said the words with annoyance, like one who was involved in a game of hide and seek in which none of her prey seemed to be making her job any easier.

It was exactly the way Naruto wanted it to be.

"Come up and find me."

She sighed. "Naruto, I'm…" Ah, the word again. She bit her lip. "…blind," she finished softly. Her fingers clenched around the blanket, crumpling the fabric.

Naruto Uzumaki did not accept setbacks or disappointments. Such words did not make it into his Ninja Handbook. In the place of negative verbs and adjectives were alternatives. Example: 'See this? This is the present. Over there? That's the future. Race ya?'

Naruto believed only in success. His methods sometimes – okay, mostly – proved to be wild, unplanned and amateurish. But they worked, and no one could pin that against him. He knew that, be it now, in ten minutes, a year or ten, Sakura would be able to speak of her handicap freely.

"And you've got a brain the size of Choji's stomach," he said, effectively hiding the encouraging tone in his voice. He let a tinge of challenge trickle into his words. "Let's see…the room is about four by five metres, respectively in horizontal and vertical planes. If you get off the bed from your right side, turn about ninety degrees to the left, advance two and a half metres, and raise your arm to head height, you should be able to give me a good whack in the face."

"Can I aim lower?" she asked suggestively. She started to slide out of the bed. In her mind's eye, she had recorded the measurements and projected her interpretation of the room. Adding in her memory of the hospital's patient rooms, Sakura had put together what she hoped to be an accurate dimension of her surroundings.

That was not to say that she had absolute confidence in herself.

"Wherever you want," Naruto confirmed. He pushed himself off the wall and stood in a slack, prepared stance. As much as his goal was to boost Sakura's confidence, he did not want her tripping over the bed legs, hitting her head and inducing upon herself another several months of sleep.

She barely knew why she was even attempting anything at all – or where she had gotten the courage and willpower to approach a dimension where matter was a foreign substance and chose to position itself in whatever location happened to be inconvenient. She was afraid to walk into an open space, with nothing within her reach. She had tried it already; it was like jumping from great height without any foothold or indication as to where and when she would hit the ground.

Her bare feet pressed against the cold tiles. A shiver ran through the soles of her feet and proceeded up through her body, freezing her. "Naruto, I-"

"Turn left. Ninety degrees." His voice was firm, his tone even and deprived of its usual cheerfulness. Sakura was struck by the seriousness her knucklehead of a friend portrayed.

She forced her body to obey. It was like moving through mud, which she had practiced enough times. Her left foot shifted, the heel gently touching her right. Ninety degrees. Her right foot followed and she stopped, froze. Foreign territory. She started to feel around for the bed, the sanctuary she had idiotically abandoned.

"Two and a half metres forward." His voice became a rhythm, God's word against the minions of Hades. His deep tone enveloped her in a cocoon, a bubble of an invisible, intangible element. Her leg had started to lean against the side of the mattress; now it was held stiff. "Come on; one step at a time – don't forget to measure."

He said it as if he expected a tape measure to extend from her toes and for the one-metre mark flare in the back of her mind.

She took the distance half a metre at a time. She was aware that, with each step, her limbs grew stiffer and unrelenting, sliding back half an inch each time the linoleum tiles pressed against the balls of her feet. It was difficult, it was hard, it was something she knew she would have to deal with for the rest of her life.

She wondered why wet tears were tracking their way down her cheeks, soaking into the collar of her shirt.

Naruto knew pain. He had been subjected to it all his life so commonly that it had become a companion to his presence. He could recognise the agony Sakura exuded, and for a slight second he was tempted to take back his challenge, to tell her that it did not matter whether or not she could see, because he would protect and take care of her. But he knew that he could not do so. If those words slipped from his mouth, she would rely on him, and she would throw away her life as a kunoichi. As a good friend, Naruto could not allow that to happen. Sakura had worked and trained hard to be here and he was not going to be the one who forced her down.

The tears continued to run down. She could no longer feel them escaping her eyes. She closed her eyes in fear of them betraying the lost sensations she was experiencing.

It took eternity to reach Naruto, and when she did, she wasted no time in pounding him with weak strikes to the chest, the torrent of tears unrelenting to the fabric of his jacket.

"You idiot," she choked out in a whisper. "You idiot…"

He smoothed the hair out of her face. "I like your braids," he said softly, but it did little to offer comfort to his sobbing teammate. "You still want ramen?"

She caught her choked breath and shook her head.

"No problem. Let's go out and get some sunlight, yeah?" Without waiting for an answer, he slipped her arms around his neck and hoisted her onto his back. She was so light, a soft weight that could easily be snatched away by stronger winds.

The thought did little to console Naruto.

He opened the door and walked out into the hallway. He felt a brief tightening around his neck as Sakura adjusted her grip and pressed her face against his skin. His lips pulled into a taut line.

Konoha Hospital's resident nutcase was an elderly woman with a hunched frame and crooked teeth who seemed to spend most of her leisure time wandering the corridors of the second floor. Naruto had run into her more than once during his visits. He had to admit that the aged woman was indeed senile, but after spending a sympathetic hour with her and being subjected to her life story, he realised that her state of mind was understandable for one that had been forced to kill her own child.

Natsumi Yokoshi had been an ANBU in her prime. Her husband had fallen in battle only a year after marrying her, leaving Natsumi a son. A son who conspired to live a 'greater life' and decided that the fastest way to do so was to leak information of the village to Hidden Rock, Konoha's foe at that time. His ANBU mother disapproved, and she landed the last punishment she would give out to her son.

Now Natsumi's mind was a mass of grey matter. And she apparently considered herself an expert on the ways of the young generation.

"Made her cry, eh?" she wheezed out, pointing a stained finger at Sakura's hidden face. She seemed not to recognise him, but then Naruto figured that she did not recognise anyone at all.

He glanced back at Sakura. "In a way," he admitted.

Natsumi gave a laugh that sounded like crickets in the summer. "You gotta be gentle with women," she said, nodding to no one in particular. "My Masuru used to say that all the time. But then what did that get him?" She gave a cackle and waved her arms about in a drunken manner. "Got himself killed by his own mama, I'd say! They say his soul's still wandering. What say you, blondie?"

"I doubt it," Naruto replied. "I'll bet you that, wherever your son is now, he's glad he has a mother who loved him so much that she would give up her sanity for him."

Natsumi blinked and peered at him, as if she had just realised the painful truth in his words. Her lower lip trembled and, realising that he had indeed reduced more than one woman to tears, Naruto hastily left.

It wasn't until they were out on the courtyard and heading toward the shade of one of the taller trees that Sakura spoke. "You've grown," Naruto," she said quietly, her voice muffled.

"Four centimetres, to be exact."

"I didn't mean physically."

He grinned. "I know."

Carefully, he set her down against the wide trunk of the tree. She sat with her legs stretched out before her, the white hospital trousers she wore dampening slightly with the morning dew left behind from earlier hours. Naruto stretched out on the grass by her side, his hair just brushing against Sakura's hip. He picked up her hand and dropped it over his eyes, blotting out the low glare of the setting sun.

"Still crying?"

She scowled and lifted her hand only to have it replaced. "No."

She thought she heard him chuckling.

It was nice to feel the sunlight against her skin, gently warming the colder confinements of her being. Naruto was a presence that gently pressed against her, and she was grateful that she could feel him, sense him heaving with steady breaths. Had he chosen to fling her aside and leave, there was little she could do to prevent him from doing so.

She heard his voice sometimes, in faint snippets. She didn't know where they came into her memory, and it had led her to assume that a small section of her consciousness had been awake to hear the conversations the blonde kept up with her. Tsunade-sensei had informed her that a various collection of associates had visited her while she had been comatose, her most frequent visitor being the persistent knucklehead she had come to regard as a brother and good friend.

Sakura realised that, to those that passed by the courtyard and glanced by at the shade, they would receive the unmistakeable impression that the two of them happened to have a romantic relationship of some sort. The pink-haired kunoichi found no comfort in this, but she discovered that she was not particularly ignorant of it. She and Naruto – no way. The blonde might still be conjuring his own fantasies, but Sakura would be damned if she let him have his way. It would do more than ruin her reputation and expectations of the opposite gender; their friendship seemed to be a fragile thing, and she did not want to shatter or crack its delicate surface in any way.

"Naruto?" she asked quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Sit up for a minute."

"Huh? Okay…" She lifted her hand away and felt his warmth leave her side. For the faintest of moments, she felt like she was drowning in a dark sea without a life ring, and she desperately wanted to feel his assuring touch on her to guide her through the waves. Phobia of being alone kicked in and she had been on the verge of curling up to whimper in fear when his voice hovered over her. "What for? Sakura? You okay?"

It took effort to restrain the relieved sigh that threatened to burst forward. She favoured a small smile. "I-I'm fine." Her hands – she knew they were white-knuckled without having to ask Naruto – groped forward. "Where are you?"

Naruto blinked at his teammate's strange behaviour. He dared not interrupt her, however. "Right here." He reached forward and let her grasp his forearms. He had to bite his lip to prevent himself from loosing off in a babbling cannon as her hands worked their way up to his shoulders and rested on either side of his face. They were cold and small against his warm cheek. The blonde resisted his natural instinct to place his larger hands over hers to warm them.

Sakura fingered his cheek as if rubbing an unseen spot of dirt from his skin. "I can't feel your whiskers," she whispered.

The helpless tone in her voice gave Naruto a compelling urge to etch the marks onto his face with a kunai. It was frightening to see her mood shift so easily and quickly – only a minute ago, she had been relatively dealing, and now she was barely intact.

"Naruto…"

"Yeah?"

"Is it…normal…for me to think of Sasuke in a moment like this?"

His throat seemed to swell beyond the point of liberty to speak. "Yes," he answered in a croaked whisper. "I think of him, too. Sometimes." The blonde chose wisely not to mention that it had been he who had caught up with the combating pair after they had escaped from his sight. He did not mention that it had been he who had cradled Sakura's limp, bleeding form and howled with desperate pain as he returned to Konoha at his best speed. He did not mention that it had been he who had had the last word with Sasuke, there at the scene where they had both been soaked in their teammate's blood.

_"She brought it on herself…why did she follow me, Naruto? Why did _you _let her?"_

It had been then that Naruto thought he heard a torn agony in his runaway teammate's voice, a remorseful grief that had been carefully concealed.

Naruto decided then and there that he would not put Sakura through the same pain they had both endured by relaying the conversation to her.

"I want to forget him," she whispered, her voice muffled by tears that had once again forced their way past her best defences. "I want to forget him, or at least _forgive _him. But I can't do either…I just can't." Her hands slipped from Naruto's face only to be caught again by the blonde. He clasped them between his own and chafed them for warmth.

"Me neither," he said. "But trust me, Sakura; it's okay to remember." He glanced around to see if Tsunade happened to have chosen that moment to drop by; the Sannin would pound him for reducing her pupil to tears once more. He saw blonde hair by the doors to the courtyard and swivelled around to investigate. "Hey, lo-" He caught himself at the last moment – Sakura did not need to be reminded that she could not respond to advice as simple as 'look'. "Ino's here. So she does care about you after all, eh?"

Sakura did not respond, but it wasn't like Naruto had expected her to.

He shrugged off his orange jacket and tucked it carefully over her. "I'll give you two some girl time, yeah?" He had the feeling that he was the cause of the tears and sadness; he reminded her too much of their genin days, and genin days usually referred to Sasuke. "I'll be back in an hour to tuck you in, okay?"

"I don't need you to tuck me in," she murmured.

He smiled and patted her head. "Sure you do. I'll just go get Ino and then get out of here." It was pleasing to see that she was already improving. Sakura often rivalled with Ino, and it did not bode well with tears. She would be strong for the sake of her reputation, and although Naruto knew that it was not ideal for her to bottle up her emotions, it would certainly serve well to give her a change of companionship once in a while.

Ino met him halfway across the courtyard. "Getting homey, are we?" she teased.

"Yeah," he grinned, accepting the statement. "_Very._"

She scoffed. "Yeah right! Like she'd let you!" Her gaze flickered toward her childhood friend and her tone softened, an unnoticed emotion of concern masking her face. "I didn't know until Dad told me…how is she?"

Naruto winced inwardly; he didn't have much positive news to deliver. "Better than she was before," he said truthfully. "But I don't think I'm much good for her."

The natural instinct to mock the blond overcame Ino as quickly as the instinct to berate Shikamaru for his laziness did. "I could've told you _that_."

He grinned sheepishly, but the cheerful expression was soon replaced by a more serious, rarely seen counterpart. "She's still thinking of him, you know," he said in a low voice, and Ino did her best to suppress an aging emotion that welled up from the pits of her stomach. "I'm reminding her too much of him…and it's hurting her."

Ino decided that she had never seen such a solemn expression on the jovial blond before. There were the occasional points of seriousness, but they rarely lasted, and they often concluded with a grin and laugh that made up for lost moments of idiotic yet infectious happiness.

"I'll just go hang around for a bit and stay away from her. Do me a favour, Ino?"

She nodded. "I'll try not to induce major harm while you're gone."

He laughed. "Well, yeah, that too. Thanks." He patted her shoulder.

For some reason, the Ino could not quite get used to the boy who had once been the shortest in the class being over half a head taller than her. She was annoyed that she had to look up to Naruto when speaking to him, and that she often ended up either staring at his chin or colliding with it – mostly the latter when he happened to be distracted, which was most of the time.

She did not notice that he had walked past her toward the door until she heard her name being called out. She turned. "Yeah?"

"Did your dad tell you that…"

"Yeah, he did."

He nodded. "I left some ramen in her room. It'd be good if you got her to eat, but if she doesn't want to that's fine too."

"Don't worry; I'll do my best."

He gave her a smile. "You'd better. Or I'm not going to buy flowers off you ever again."

"See if I care."

"Jeez, ice queen. You'd better go to Sakura now; she gets a bit scared when she's left alone for long. I'll see you around, Ino."

"Whatever… Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"I think she's glad…to have a friend like you."

He laughed again. "Well, I sure hope so!"

Ino wondered if it was possible to look both happy and sad at the same time, because that was the expression Naruto was pulling off at the moment.

_God, Sakura…what did you do to deserve this caring idiot?_


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

OoO

"Your shoulder is a sanctuary for a friend's tears." – _Unknown_

OoO

She didn't realise that she had drawn blood until she felt the dull sting in her palm.

It had been so long since she had felt pain – being a medic-nin more than ensured that she would not be in agony for long intervals. Her hands half rose from her sides to form a well-practiced handsign. She was halfway through the rat seal before she realised what she was doing and let her limbs fall limply to the grass.

Who was she kidding? She couldn't attempt medical jutsu. She was _blind_. She could not see the exact location of the wound, and thus her healing jutsu would most likely be focused and wasted on an inadequate portion of her flesh. Perhaps if she focused harder on the pain…no. She didn't even want to try. Disappointment had crushed her too many times in one day.

_Crush me a few more times and I'll never be as tall as Naruto,_ she mused, chuckling and horrifying herself seconds later.

"Damn," she muttered. "I'm _laughing _when I should be doing the opposite. Tsunade-sensei needs to get another look at me." She mentally wracked her mind – what the _hell _was wrong with it?

All disturbing views aside, Sakura found herself drawing her knees close to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. She lowered her head to rest it on her knees. She would like to think that she was a rock, a solid boulder. One that could not be hurt and one that did not mind being swathed in a dimension of eternal darkness. One that did not mind being alone.

But Sakura wasn't a boulder. Her heart thumped at a painfully quick pace against her chest. She had never been claustrophobic, but there had never been a better moment to admit that she had developed the irrational fear. The darkness was everywhere. No one was there to hold her hand, to talk to her, to _be _there with her. It was just Sakura Haruno and The Darkness.

Thank god her opponent wasn't a shinobi, or she would have long since been slaughtered.

_Where the hell is Naruto? No wait – he's gone, that prick. He said something about Ino…where the _hell _is that pig?_ As soon as the thought hovered above her conscience, she started lightly thumping her head against her knee. She _really _needed to pay Tsunade-sensei a visit if she was grateful for any sort of companionship that came in the form of Ino Yamanaka.

"Hey there, Forehead Girl."

_Oh shit._

OoO

Ino did not know what to make of her friend's composure. It was tensely held, her shoulders clenched tightly. The blonde was hesitant to announce her presence. She took the moment to look over the girl that was a friend, rival and colleague rolled in one.

It had been a while since Ino had laid eyes on the comatose girl, and now that she was awake, it did little to fill in the time gap. Ino had, on some reluctant basis, been concerned for Sakura's wellbeing and she often pestered Naruto for regular updates on the patient's health. Whether the blonde girl was willing to admit it or not, she had pined for a few squabbling sessions with Sakura, and no matter how intense their rivalry often ended up becoming, Ino would never wish from such to befall the former.

Sakura look strangely small and thin in the white hospital clothing – which, ironically, was the garment that she usually helped the wounded don - that marked her as a patient. Her eyes were a milky shade of emerald, wide and unseeing. Strands of hair hung limply, brushing against pale cheeks.

She looked very breakable.

Ino had, somewhat, promised to protect the pink-haired girl when they had been younger and had still fostered friendship. It was often the former who fought off the nastier kids in defense for the latter. But, looking down at her childhood friend, Ino realised that it was impossible to protect Sakura now. The unrelenting assault, both physically and emotionally, had left the girl empty and unstable. Naruto had warned her, but the blonde was still stunned by how dearly her being ached to fold the sightless girl in her arms.

"Damn."

Ino blinked. The first word that she heard from Sakura since months ago…was 'damn'. _Naruto never told me that she _talks to herself!

"I'm laughing when I should be doing the opposite."

It appeared that Sakura was not aware of the tears that glistened on her cheeks.

"Tsunade-sensei needs to get another look at me."

_Damn right she does!_ No sooner had the agreeing thought been conjured did Sakura curl into a foetal position. Her head was tucked and her face hidden from view. Ino wondered if she knew that she was rocking gently on her heels, brushing off slight bark sheddings each time her back neared the tree trunk.

Ino winced. Naruto had been accurately correct. Sakura's moods seemed to shift in seconds, from loud to quiet, chuckling to crying, fine to anything but. And it seemed that she should never be left alone. The blonde decided to intervene before the other girl's sanity was threatened.

"Hey there, Forehead Girl."

The velocity at which Sakura's head snapped up was terrifying Ino to the point that she was afraid the former would shatter her neck. Unseeing eyes stared forward and she frowned.

"Hi," Ino said in a softer tone. "Thought I'd drop by and check if your forehead got any bigger."

Sakura managed a grim smile. "Did it?"

"Only a bit. Mind if I sit down?"

The pink-haired girl shuffled over to share the trunk. As soon as Ino settled on the grass, something tickled her senses. As a medic-nin in training, she had become attuned to spotting cryptograms that led to injuries. She could smell it in the air. Fresh, warm…blood.

It took her only an instant to locate the wound. Sakura's right hand was laid across her stomach, cradled between her other hand and her propped up knees. A trickle of crimson liquid flowed freely from crescent-shaped lacerations, the ruby droplets sliding down the palm and blossoming on the pallid shirt, forming plaintive buds on the fabric.

Ino reached out and took the affronted limb in her hands.

She couldn't help flinching with Sakura.

"I'm just going to check up on your hand," she said softly when she saw a lip being abused by frantic chewing. It had slipped her mind that Sakura was now blind, and that any unexpected contact would seem like it had dropped out of the sky. Ino cursed herself for her idiocy; she was aiming to provide assurance, not impend whatever progress Naruto had managed to accomplish.

For all her family's mind penetrating jutsus, Ino found difficulty in deciphering the perplexing indications of Sakura's consciousness. As the blonde swept her Mystical Palm over Sakura's wounded hand, she noticed that the latter's face was devoid of all emotion; no interest, sadness – not even the slightest hint of pain.

"Ino?"

Immersed in her thoughts, Ino snapped back to reality with her first thought being: _Where's Ino_-pig? For some reason, the sound of her name without the offending suffix attached transferred the blonde back to their childhood, a time and space where their biggest problems were fighting off bullies and getting in trouble for shoving flowers in Ami's big mouth.

"What?"

Her hand now healed, Sakura curled it back into a fist. "What…do you think pain is?"

"Wh…_What?"_ Ino could barely hear her own voice. Instead, she could another one from the past, one younger and more hesitant.

"_Ino?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_What exactly…is love?"_

"Pain," Sakura repeated, unaware of her companion's time-travelling experiences. "What do you think it is?"

Ino had the feeling that she would not be satisfied with Tsunade's bland explanation that had been drilled into both their knowledge: Pain is a typical sensory experience that may be described as the unpleasant awareness of a noxious stimulus or bodily harm.

And, as Tsunade often added after that: bullshit.

"What do you mean?" Ino asked quietly.

Sakura sighed and tilted her head backward, as if she could visualise the clear sky reflected in her pupils. "Pain…it runs deeper than the tearing of skin. I think skin is like a glove. Stick your hand under a running tap and you won't physically feel the water. But you will still feel the chill. It's like pain in a way, isn't it? You don't have to be physically wounded to be hurt."

Ino stared at her friend a long time after that.

Sasuke. Was he the cause for this…this pain? Probably was.

Ino mirrored Sakura's posture. She, of course, could see the crystal blue of the sky, like an endless ocean. It was a bad time for her to recall Shikamaru's love of staring at the fluffy wonders called clouds, so Ino forced that out of her mind with a scowl. She didn't want to see the laze when she was thinking of someone like Sasuke.

Sasuke Uchiha. It was surprising for Ino to discover that his name bought a chill – not together a pleasant one. She was certain if his name was a food, it would taste sour and bitter. The boy had once meant a lot to Ino Yamanaka, and she wondered when that had changed. When had she officially broken away from Sasuke Fan Club™? She couldn't wholeheartedly admit that she did not think about him – she did, but not as often as she used to. Most of her thoughts about Sasuke were accompanied by Orochimaru and where the snaky bastard had taken the Uchiha prodigy. Ino – as a friend – worried that Sasuke was taking down the wrong path and did not know it. There was nothing worse than believing that sin was a blessing.

"Sakura?" Ino asked hesitantly.

The pink-haired girl turned to her, and the blonde found herself staring into the opaque pupils. "Yeah?"

"Do you…think about him sometimes?" Ino's voice came out unsure and wobbly. She wondered if Naruto would approve of her direct take of action. It was more out of curiosity than anything, but the blonde had discovered from experience that the fastest way to deal with pain was to face it enough times for the agony of its risen mention to fade into the background.

It was proven quick and painful.

Much to her astonishment, Sakura's lips curved into a small smile. "Do you?"

Ino found herself scowling. "I asked you first." Silence followed. She sighed. "Yes…yes, I do. But not in _that _way anymore."

Sakura nodded. "I wasn't thinking _that _way either…when I followed him."

Ino stiffened. Tsunade had relayed the events to her and the blonde had been shocked to discover that Sakura had _willingly _broken away from the main battle to pursue Sasuke. To _approach _Sasuke, with the packed knowledge that he would only go as far as to blink before he harmed her.

"He was just…standing there when I caught up to him," the pink-haired girl continued. "His back was turned and he didn't even look at me when he spoke. You know what he said to me, Ino?"

She didn't want to know.

"He told me I was annoying."

"Well, you _are_," Ino joked weakly.

Sakura frowned, but she didn't appear to have heard Ino's comment. "Is it normal for a guy to just disappear then let you chase him, call you 'annoying' – and then try to kill you?"

Ino didn't reply, and the question remained unanswered, though Sakura did not press for one.

Silence stretched between the two kunoichi. It was not overly unpleasant; the lapse was a rare one, and neither girl was willing to admit that it was quite a companionable aspect to each other's presence. They let the silence live on, knowing that the voicing of its serene nature would destroy it.

Even when they spoke, it came out as a whisper.

"Ino-pig?"

"What now, Billboard Brow?"

"Can I borrow your shoulder?"

Another voice from the past softened Ino's defences. "Yes."

Sakura didn't move.

Ino once again cursed her foolishness. She reached out and gently tilted Sakura's head toward her and pressed against her shoulder. The pink-haired girl shuffled closer for the comfort of both of them. Her forehead pressed against the side of Ino's neck. The blonde would sooner eat like an Akimichi than admit it but…she had, truthfully, seen people with larger foreheads than Sakura's. But insults were the highlights of their conversations, and if none were exchanged, it was horrifying to imagine what the two would resort to.

The minutes crawled by. Ino had by now grown accustomed to the weight on her shoulder, and she occupied herself by trying to discern whatever illness the patients that crossed the courtyard were suffering from. When she got bored, she would test the range of her mind jutsus on the nurses that walked by, leaving her body under the oak tree. She flirted with a doctor, once, under the body of a nurse – she'd known the woman had it coming on the guy anyway. The poor man was baffled by the sudden confession, and Ino hurried back to her body to watch the display theatrical moment she had created.

The pair walked away laughing nervously, the man running through his timetable and the woman agreeing that it was 'Five outside the hospital'.

No sooner had Ino forced down a stream of uncontrollable giggles did she feel a cool liquid seeping into her shirt.

She turned her head and found that her vision was obscured by Sakura's hair. Gently, she grasped the girl's shoulders and laid her across her lap. Ino leaned over to see a trail of tears leaking from Sakura's eyes.

Only a woman in extreme pain would cry in her sleep.

Ino bit her lip, her finger unconsciously twining around Sakura's braided fringe.

She wasn't in the mood to match up overly hygienic individuals anymore.

OoO

He sat cross-legged on his futon, the blankets thrown back from the day's earlier excitements. A spot of dried blood dotted the mattress where Konohamaru had failed to stifle the torrential gushing of crimson liquid from his nose. Naruto stared at the patch, his head bowed forward in light meditation.

His gaze then flickered to the summoning scroll that rested in front of him. He had, with Tsunade's assistance, dropped by at Sakura's old home to gather her belongings. He had folded the futon and blankets while Tsunade had taken care of the more feminine aspects of accessories. Both of them had agreed that they would not inadvertently empty Sakura's house into Naruto's; his domicile was humbly spacious but not a manor by any view. They also did not want Sakura to come across her old belongings and grieve over any matter, especially her parents' deaths.

It pained Naruto to see his friend so broken. Sakura, more often than not, was the one responsible for carnage. She very much enjoyed the look of his fingers in a fist, and she preferred to express anger or annoyance in a physical form. Yet, if he tapped a little harder against her being, Naruto was certain that she would shatter and crumple. Ino could only do so much; the rest was up to him. He wanted to see Sakura smile, to accept her disability and continue to strive.

He wanted to see her alive.

Naruto nodded once to no one in particular, reached for the scroll – and got to work.

His first initiative was to remove the only step in the dwelling – although he would sorely miss sitting down on it to remove his sandals after a long day, he would be damned if he knew leaving it in place would promptly earn a Sakura-shaped crevice in the floorboards and a Naruto-shaped hole in the wall.

A shadow clone popped into assistance and wound a Rasengan into its creator's hand. Naruto squatted in front of the step and carefully crushed the block, smoothing it upward in a gentle, gradual slope. The clone stood over his shoulder and waited until he was finished. It then proceeded to clean up the pile of debris left behind.

It was only the beginning of the adjustments Naruto would have to make to his apartment.

He removed his scattered belongings from the bedroom and stored them in a cupboard in the main room. His clothes had to be folded and Naruto set two clones to work. The remainder of his things were tipped into a small trunk and pushed into a small space beside the fridge in the kitchen. His futon was promptly rolled up and stored on top of the cupboard, while more clones were conjured to air out Sakura's on the small balcony.

He had just dispatched a score of clones to the bathroom when there was a knock on the door.

"It's me," Kakashi said when Naruto yelled for identification.

A shadow clone let the silver-haired jonin inside and then returned to its previous occupation. Naruto met him in the main room. "Hey there, Kakashi-sensei. Why didn't you use the window?"

"Your clones wouldn't let me in."

"Oh." Naruto jammed his head out to the balcony. "Oi, you idiots! Let Kakashi-sensei through next time!"

"Shut up, boss! We'll let in whoever we want!"

A vein twitched. "If you weren't taking care of Sakura's futon I'd…" He sighed and turned to his guest with a grin. "So what bought you here, sensei? Did you go see Sakura in the hospital?"

The son of the White Fang quietly observed the boisterous boy before him. Kakashi admitted that, when given the chance, he had favoured Sasuke over Naruto. As much as the jonin had longed to shower the blond with the same attention he poured to the Uchiha, it just wasn't possible. That was mainly the reason why he had handed temporary tutelage to Jiraiya. Not only could the Sannin edify control of the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra; he was could teach he boy some matters of being a shinobi.

And it was about time Naruto found someone who truly cared.

He had grown; Kakashi found that he no longer had to look down at his student. Hell, all his pupils had grown. Naruto was now a chunin and approaching his jonin exam – which Kakashi discovered he to have declined the opportunity of taking and was at a well disposition to understand why. Sasuke had taken a turn for the worse and was still among Orochimaru's darker intentions. And Sakura…she had become Tsunade's apprentice, a recognised medic-nin – and gotten herself blinded.

It was perhaps his own experience, but Kakashi found himself relating his student's unfortunate loss of eyesight to his own. He knew the panic that came with the pitch darkness; he himself had suffered a kunai to the eye in the past. Had it not been for a teammate's sacrifice and generous donation, Kakashi would not be fit to live up to the name of Copy Ninja. Sakura would most likely be feeling the lonely blackness that he had felt, though she had lost sight of both eyes and had no Sharingan to replace either with.

A hand waved in front of his distant gaze and snapped him back to attention. "Eh, Kakashi-sensei? Are you listening to me?"

He turned back to his frowning student with a sheepish smile. "Yes, Naruto? Ah yes, about Sakura…no, I haven't visited her yet. I was summoned by the Hokage and dispatched for a small errand." Seeing the blond's curiously raised eyebrow, Kakashi gestured for him to sit, and the two of them lowered themselves cross-legged onto the tatami. "Lady Tsunade is concerned about her apprentice…she told me that you plan to invite Sakura to live with you."

Naruto nodded. "That's right. I don't think it would be very good for her if she was cooped up in her parents' old house, you know. And it would take a whole load off my back if I knew that she was okay…this way, I can look after her. See? I'm changing the place so she'll be more comfortable."

"Understandable." It briefly surprised Kakashi to be on the receiving end of his student's maturity. _I don't suppose it's a bad thing…after all he's been through. _The jonin reached into his pouch and held out a band, which Naruto accepted with both hands. The object glistened in the dull lighting.

Sakura's forehead protector.

"Lady Tsunade would also like you to…how should I put this…"

"Find out if she still wants to be a kunoichi," Naruto said quietly. He had not taken his gaze off the insignia that was a ninja's most prized possession.

Kakashi was grateful for his mask at that moment. His pulsating pride for his pupil was giving him a great deal amount of guilt and grief; he had carefully nurtured the surviving Uchiha into a missing-nin and deprived a great ninja of adequate tutelage.

"Sakura would still want to be a ninja," Naruto continued in a low voice. His fingers clenched around the cold metal. "She wouldn't want to give up."

"It would be great news if that was so," Kakashi agreed. "But Naruto…if she doesn't want to, don't push it."

Naruto fixed his sensei with a half-smiling, somber expression. "Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei. I know what to do."


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

OoO

"Health food may be good for the conscience but Oreos taste a hell of a lot better." – _Robert Redford_

OoO

Sakura Haruno was not stupid, nor could the word 'irrational' be pinned down on her. She always took it upon her role to analyse the specific situations and her surroundings, calculating, working out angles and the correct approach. As a medic-nin, she must be precise in her actions; one centimetre off and she would be playing with a human life. She couldn't afford to miscalculate.

The last time she had, she had lost sight of the world.

She also did not want to lose a true friend, her only remaining teammate. She had maintained her composure when he, in the midst of packing the minimal objects that belonged to her from the hospital room, had told her that she would be living with him. He had asked and she had replied with a positive. She let him carry her to his apartment, allowing his overprotective nature to prevent her unsteady legs from touching the pavement.

She let him lead her gently to the bathroom, running her fingers over every nook and cranny before she assured him for the tenth time that she had enough sense as a kunoichi not to slip on the tiles and the infinite rugs that had been placed over it. She allowed her emotions to slip for a short moment as her hands brushed against the taps of the bath and realised that Naruto had carved designs onto the surface of each. Her fingers pressed against the sun and the snowflake, and a smile grew on her lips as she twisted the tap and brought forth the gushing water.

But, because she had let him do all of the above, she could not let him live in an unrealistic fantasy.

"Naruto," she said, and she could imagine him looking up from across the table.

"Hmm?"

"You know, it's nice of you to let me stay here-"

"Not a problem, Sakura! My pleasure to be sharing my lonely apartment with you!"

She grimaced. "But it doesn't mean that we have advanced onto anything closer than good friends." She paused. "Do you understand that, Naruto?"

No, of course he didn't. "What d'you mean?"

"I mean that we're friends. Just…friends. Good friends."

"What are you trying to say, Sakura?" he frowned. Had his ramen accidentally messed with her ability to express herself? He certainly didn't think he cooked _that _bad. "You can tell me right out, you know. Anything you want to tell me, I'll listen."

She couldn't 'tell him right out'. Blunt truths hurt – she'd learnt from Sasuke. "Naruto," she said slowly, trying again. "I know you like me, and I like you too. I love you…but not in the way you might want." She bit her lip. "I like you as a brother, nothing less…nothing more."

Silence. She wished not for the first time that she could see his expression.

Naruto laid down his chopsticks. "So you're saying that we're just friends…not like a date or anything, right? Not the kind of thing Pervy Sage and the other girls…"

"No!" she said immediately, a little louder than she had intended. Then she winced. "Sorry, Naruto. I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea." _Like, you know, me being blind and unable to see if you decide to take relationships the wrong way…_ Unlikely as the scenario would seem, Sakura admitted to herself that she would sleep a little better at night if she had Naruto's word and his understanding.

She heard a chair scrape against the floor and a presence hovering over her. Sakura set down her chopsticks and lifted her head, brow furrowed as she tried to discern whatever Naruto was intending to do next.

His hands gently closed around her wrists and he raised the tips of her fingers to his face.

"Naruto!" she gasped softly. "I just said-"

He continued to brush her fingers against his face. "I just wanted you to feel and know that I'm grinning."

She winced. "N-Naruto…"

"Don't worry about it, Sakura, I get it. Not loverbirds or anything, as much as I sorta like the sound of that…" He smiled as a very familiar scowl began etching into his friend's face. "Just friends, right? I promise I won't peek on you when you're in the shower – I promise I won't let Pervy Sage inside when you are, too – and we'll be sleeping in separate rooms."

He removed her hands from his face, though not taking his eyes off hers. "I'll love you with this," he pressed her hand against his chest, and she could feel the faint thrumming of his heart through his shirt and skin, "but not this," and he lifted her hands up to his lips, his mouth. He smiled slowly so that she would register the motion. "Is that okay with you? Or do you want me to find a jutsu that stops my heart from beating?"

Sakura didn't need eyesight and a mirror to know that her face was receiving far too much blood at the moment.

Nor did she need them to know that tears were once again seeping through her defences.

She was crying in seconds, and as much as she berated herself for being weak and _crying everyday,_ her body was supplying her with more tears than she would like. She was certain that if she gathered the amount of salty liquid she had shed in the past two days and somehow converted them into chakra, she would be in the putting up competition for Naruto's role as chakra powerhouse.

Naruto was slightly more than mortified. _I made her cry. Again._

He'd made Sakura cry _a lot _of times lately. And he was damn sick of it.

"W-wait a minute," he stammered, flapping his arms by his side in a comically desperate image. "Don't cry, Sakura! Please don't cry! I-I…I'm sorry! Whatever I did, I'm sorry! Just don't cry! Y-you want ramen? It'll make you feel better."

Sakura sniffed and turned to grope for him. He dived forward to give her his hand. She felt her way up his arm, and then smashed a fist into his stomach. Naruto grimaced; the blow jarred slightly, but it wasn't strengthened by chakra or even anger. He waited for it to come again, but it didn't.

"How's that?" she asked.

"Erm…fine, if it makes you happy." He was relieved to see her tears flow to a halt.

She groaned and buried her face in her hands. Naruto hovered anxiously over her, circling her back and then kneeling down by her side, sticking his head into the space between her arms. She didn't know he was there until his hair started tickling her chin.

"Naruto!"

"Hey, Sakura, I'm sorry – I really am." He paused and watched carefully for the smallest hint of tears. "So…what did I do wrong?"

Her sightless eyes flickered over – through – him, and then she sighed. "Naruto…you didn't do _anything _wrong. You're…you're just…you're too _nice._"

"Eh? Wh-what d'you mean?"

Yes, it made her feel horrible. "It's just…" She twisted at her shirt, wringing it into a damp mass of twisted fabric. "I've been so horrible to you in the past, and now I'm sort of…sort of…"

"Breaking my heart?" Naruto suggested.

She overlooked the joking tone in his voice – witticism aside.

"Exactly!" she said miserably. "You're letting me stay at your house and I'm just…I don't deserve everything you're giving me, Naruto."

She, for obvious reasons, could not see that his mouth was opening and closing as he fought to grope for the correct wording, and she reached forward, luck guiding her hands to his shoulders. She leaned forward, the last of her tears trickling down her face and dripping onto Naruto's.

"I don't _deserve_ you."

"S-Sakura!" he said, horrified. "Don't say that!"

"I'm serious, Naruto," she said quietly, and her tone matched her statement. "You've done too much for me already; just…too much. Either you take some of it back or I don't think I can stand being in your company. I'm blind," she whispered, "but I'm glad, because at the moment, I just don't know how I'm supposed to face you."

He winced at her words but it was impossible for her to notice.

"I used to be awful to you and you know it," she continued tearfully. "I've just done too many harmful things to you, and you're making me feel worse by sticking with me even thought I've rejected you a thousand times. I know you gave up on the Jonin exams this year for me – and don't kill Kakashi-sensei because he was being truthful-"

"That liar," he fumed through clenched teeth.

"You've just done too much for me, Naruto. Let me do something for you for a change. Friendships only work if it's a give and take relationship, and at the moment I've been taking too much." She reached for him and he took her hand. "Please?" she said softly. "Give me a chance to make it up to you."

"You don't have to," he insisted half-heartedly.

She frowned. "Then I can't stay here." Brushing him aside, she got up, turned - and promptly tripped on the leg of her chair. She stumbled and managed to catch herself at the last moment, biting her lip. Having known Naruto for years, she knew how to push his buttons, how to relay the message best to him. He would call her back, and the devilish side of her waited to hear his voice shouting her name, his hands pulling her back.

Naruto watched her feel her way to the wall and slide her hands across the surface. She was almost rounding the corner to the door when he snapped out of whatever had been holding him back and bolted forward to stall her.

"Wait!" he cried, cringing as she stubbed her toe on the shoe rack. He slipped in front of her and flung out his arms, the tips of his fingers brushing against each side of the hallway. "I'll do whatever you – I mean, I'll make you do whatever I want. Just don't leave, Sakura! Please? Please please please please?"

If she didn't know better, she would think that he was bargaining with Kami.

It had been so easy she almost felt guilty.

"What should I do? What _can _I do?"

"You're not going to leave now, are you?" he asked warily.

"Only if you don't act like you owe me everything you've done for me."

Naruto grinned and took her hand, leading her into the main room. He sat her down on the couch and stood over her. "I just want you to answer a question."

She frowned.

"It's important," he insisted. "Really, really important. To you and me."

Sakura's brow furrowed and she bit her lip. If Kami had not forbidden her eyesight, she would have been intrigued by the mixture of emotions on Naruto's face as he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small article, and pressed it into her hand. Curiosity came in waves and she felt her way around the object. It was partially made of cloth – strong, rough fibre. Tracing the material, her fingers brushed against something hard and cold. Puzzled, she felt the surface and came across an indentation.

"_Hey, Mother, Father! I did it!"_

"_You did, sweetheart? Let us see."_

"_You see it, you see it? I'm a ninja now!"_

Certain memories flooded into her consciousness. Moving as if in a trance, Sakura brushed back her hair with one hand, and then reached up to secure the band over it in a headband fashion. Following the strip of material down, her fingers reached the end and intertwined the edges into a firm knot. A small, minuscule touch of satisfaction bubbled in her being; it was the one thing she didn't need her eyesight for.

Tying on her forehead protector.

Being a Leaf Village shinobi…

Scratch that last bit.

The couch tilted slightly toward a new weight; Naruto had just sat down. Sakura allowed herself to be bundled in his arms. After a moment, she rested her forehead against his shoulder, her forehead protector pressing against the top of her head when he shifted.

"It'll be hard," he murmured into her hair, "but you're not going to give up, are you, Sakura?"

Now _there _was a thought.

She sighed, the exhalation of her breath muffled slightly by her companion's jacket. "No, Naruto."

Her lack of sight saved her from being dazzled by Naruto's grin.

"Just give me some time."

He rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "We've got all the time in the world, Sakura."

She smiled, but it never reached her glazed eyes. It pained her to lie, to deceive her dear friend. It was no longer her decision and will that held her future's destiny. Naruto didn't see that. What use was a blind kunoichi? Especially one as weak as her?

Yes, she was lying.

Now all that remained to fool was her conscience.

OoO

It had been a bad idea.

She should never have let Naruto convince her. She should have stood her ground and insisted that she was tired, that she wanted nothing more than to curl in the caressing waves of the blankets and sleep and rest.

_But noooo_, she thought, and almost giggled when she realised how childish she sounded, even to the private closures of her consciousness. _I had to let him drag me out here. Bad idea, Sakura – big, big, bad idea!_

It was her birthday in two days and, as the harvest festival had been scheduled, Naruto had exuberantly taken her out to the parade as an early birthday treat. She had mumbled, she had whined, she had complained – she had gone along with it.

Sakura wondered for the umpteenth time exactly how, why and when it had happened. She had been highly cautious all morning, clinging to Naruto's hand with her left and clutching the same arm with her right. She had only been able to hear the loud chattering of the villagers, feel the bodies pressing against hers as they fought their way through the crowd – but Naruto had been there, so she had relented. _As long as I don't let go_, she had told herself, _I'll be fine._

Like hell things ever went the way they were supposed to.

Barely half an hour into the festival, It happened. Sakura could not recall very much of the details, managing only to piece together Kiba's yell across the torrent of voices, Naruto responding with his loudest volume that had momentarily deafened her auditory sense. It was all a muddle after that. The crowd had shifted and pushed and closed in at a dangerous rate. She didn't know when she had lost hold of Naruto's hand – she just had. She had been flushed to one side by the crowd and, in the midst of confusion and crying out for the blond, she'd gotten the majority of her toes bruised under the less-attentive villagers.

All she could remember clearly was Akamaru's rough barking.

It had been a bad idea and it had landed her in a wholly dire situation.

Sakura pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them, ignoring the sting on her knee when it brushed against the fabric of her skirt. Somewhere in between finding her way to a wall and sitting down against it, she had managed to fall and scrape a painful amount of skin off her knee. Had she been in any situation but this one, the gash would have long been healed. But no, Sakura was not going to attempt medical jutsu. One incorrect miscalculation would possibly sever tendons, and another would reproduce her cells at such a rate that, like Tsunade's Creation Rebirth technique, would shorten her life span.

One mistake and it had the capability to kill her. Unlike her master, Sakura was not big on gambling.

She had no idea how long she had been separated from Naruto. All she knew was that she would give him a very large piece of her mind when they were reunited – after she was done freaking out, that was. Truth be told, Sakura was scared. Very, very scared. Being blind had that effect on a person. Darkness on all sides, all corners, everywhere. Only voices and noises beyond that darkness, unreachable. It both taunted and frightened her. It would be just so easy for something extremely bad to befall her, and in her current state, there would be little she could do about it.

At that moment, she felt a hand settling on her arm, on her bare skin where her shirt's sleeve ended. For a short second, she thought it was Naruto. But his hands weren't that small, his skin wasn't as wrinkled, and he definitely did not inch his way up her arm, to her neck and dipping below-

"Stop it!" Sakura cried, slapping the hand away. It came back again, and this time she had the sense to grip its wrist. "Get away from me!" Futile attempts; Kami blessed the human race with two fore limbs, and this perverted intruder was making the most use of his. Even as he fought to wrench his hand out of her grip, the other was already reaching down and stroking her thigh.

"What's a beauty like you doin' in the gutters, melady?" a croaky voice hissed in her ear.

Sakura recoiled away from the alcoholic breath – drunks, always the drunks. She had heard numerous tales of drunken men relieving women of their right to virginity more than she would like in the hospital.

It just never crossed her mind that, one day, the same fate would befall her.

Or rather, she'd never imagined that, when that day came, she would not be able to defend herself.

She screamed for Naruto as she left a slimy mass against her cheek, hot breath heaving down on the side of her face. Her limbs flailed in wild protest, but, after a short prick to her thigh, they fell limp and heavy. Her sightless eyes widened.

What kind of perverted drunk carried injections of overdose anaesthetic?

It appeared that this one did. Sakura's mind was blanketed by a layer of fog. The chemical dose did not allow her to drift into blessed unconsciousness. No, it only permitted her consciousness to remain, while her physical self slept. Sakura continued to scream. She screamed for Naruto's protection, for Tsunade-sensei's guidance, for Shizune's kindness, for Kakashi-sensei's…no, not Kakashi-sensei.

Why wasn't anyone coming?

And then she distantly heard herself screaming _his _name.

She didn't notice when the drunk's horrible weight was pulled off her, nor did she hear the horrible crunch of his bones against the brick wall of the alleyway. When a second pair of hands gripped her shoulders, she had only the strength to moan and briefly raise her head in protest, before a coat was draped across her shivering frame

"You're blind," a voice muttered from somewhere above her.

Sakura did not know if she ought to be offended or grateful. Before she could decide between either, she felt a low warmth rose on her arm, spreading through her veins and immediately tensed.

"Relax. I'm removing the drug's effects."

"Who are you?" she murmured, her words slurred.

She didn't hear his reply. The coat was removed from her front, instead draping itself over her back. A presence hovered before her, and before she could register reality, her arms were lifted to encircle a neck and her legs removed from the ground. The up and down motion that shifted her body told her that they were moving.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Home."

She hesitated. "Yours?"

"Yours."

"Oh." Then she frowned, her grip on the shinobi's collar tightening. "How do you know where I live?" A headache was pressing against the back of her head, her temple throbbing painfully; she was in no state and mood to play mind games – let alone escape a rape only to be kidnapped.

A dreadful pause that almost nullified Sakura's access to oxygen.

"Word of the Hokage's apprentice spreads quickly."

She relaxed slightly; his response was a credible one. As a pupil of the Legendary Sannin Tsunade, it came as no surprise that Sakura Haruno's face would be known by the wider public. Many a stranger would know that she had moved in with one Naruto Uzumaki.

More would know that she was now blind.

Still, Sakura did not completely let down her guard. While her mysterious liberator had done nothing but grace her with good deeds, he was still a shinobi, and no law forbid him from deciding to turn against the blind, helpless apprentice of the current Hokage. It was no secret that Sakura and Shizune were placed at a very high value in Tsunade Senju's heart; it would not take much to kidnap the more hapless of the two in an attempt to ruin the Sannin.

Sakura would rather die first.

It took her many a moment to realise that they were no longer moving. She whispered for the stranger, but all she found was that her arms had been placed in her lap and that she was sitting on a cold, hard surface. Fingers trailing up, she found a step. She was sitting on a staircase.

When one of Naruto's frantically scattered shadow clones found her sitting on the doorstep of his apartment, draped in a foreigner's cloak that defied no traceable odour, it immediately took it upon itself to carry the blind kunoichi into the apartment, entering via the balcony. It gently rested the girl on her bed and hovered anxiously over her.

"He'll be here soon," it said. "And he's really sorry."

Sakura nodded and closed her eyes to drift into slumber.

The clone stabbed itself with a kunai to inform the original.

OoO

Time held no solid specifications. She had no inkling as to how long she had been sleeping for; all she knew was that, when she wearily forced her sightless eyes open, his arms were around her and one side of her face was cradled against his chest. His words, spoken in an undertone, were indistinguishable. All she could discern was that it was his voice. He was here, she was no longer alone, and it was all that mattered.

"Naruto," she mumbled. His body shifted and he held her closer to him, resting his chin on the top of her head, and she suddenly felt like a small child, enveloped in the warm embrace of a larger being.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't…Kiba, he just dragged me and – and I forgot that…I'm sorry. Oh Sakura, I'm so, so sorry. I'm sorry you had to…be alone." He didn't mention the state at which he had found her in; clothes torn and ripped, knee bloody, face stained with grime and tears. He wouldn't tell her that he had bathed and changed her clothes while she had been unconscious.

Naruto Uzumaki was, by no classification, a fool. He had, with due respect and knowledge, understood Sakura's determination to stabilise their relationship on the friendship plan. He respected her will. A small part of him still warmed and glowed whenever she gave him a small smile. He still yearned to fall back into the routine of asking her to a date every second day. But he kept himself in line.

_Just friends_, he had reminded himself firmly when he had carried his teammate to the bathroom to get her cleaned. He would have asked for Ino or Shizune's assistance, but the latter was not back from her mission, and the former would definitely have inquired the state of Sakura's scratched limbs and weary frame. So he had bathed her himself, slipped her into a clean set of clothes.

And they were friends, nothing more, nothing less – just like she said.

He watched with a grief and guilt stricken gaze as Sakura turned her face, wet with fresh tears, into his chest, soaking through his shirt. Her eyes eventually closed, and when she entered a terrible nightmare that had her thrashing around, he let her claw at his arms and punch his jaw and pound his chest. He didn't let go of her all evening.

That night, Sasuke came back.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

OoO

"Everyday is in black and white,

I want them to be attached with colours" - _Taiyō no Uta_, Sawajiri Erika

OoO

He appeared on the doorstep as nonchalantly as he approached everything else. His hair was slightly windswept, a small damp stain beneath on his loose garb suggesting that he had been in what might have been a hurry. There was no need to knock. He simply stood in front of the door, and it only took a few moments for Naruto to answer it.

He stabbed him in the chest.

"Welcome back."

As the clone fell back and popped out of existence, two more look-alikes stepped out of the shadows, a swirling Rasengan rotating fiercely between them. They smiled grimly, and then one of them dissipated, leaving the original to face his former teammate. The whooshing of the Rasengan's vortex capabilities filled in the silence.

Naruto quietly observed the Uchiha. Sasuke had come dressed in the Sound's full uniform. The blond deduced that his skills must have increased dramatically for him to be able to slip into the village and remain under ANBU radar in such a conspicuous outfit.

The raven-haired boy did not appear to have changed much. He still had the slight smirk dangling from the corner of his lips, the undermining glint in his eyes. He was still the bastard that his friends had almost died trying to retrieve.

"If I yell, they'll be all over you like your fangirls."

"You wouldn't."

"How would you know?"

A smirk. "Because I know _you_, dobe. And also because I took care of this area's security."

Naruto's hand lowered slightly, the velocity of the Rasengan reducing. He dropped his head. "How many?"

"Three."

"Why are you always like this? No – why are you like this _now_?"

"You don't understand; it is beyond your thinking frame."

"When are you going to come home, Sasuke?" Naruto whispered.

"I don't have one. Nor do I need one."

He knew he had taken a wrong step, allowing the traitor into his household. He should have raised the alarm, should have sprinted to the Granny Tsunade when he'd noticed his presence, not dash into Sakura's room to make sure was alright. Or perhaps he should have opened the door himself, and thrust the Rasengan into Sasuke's gut.

But he hadn't, and Naruto no longer knew what to do.

The Uchiha stepped inside and brushed past him. He cast around, and then said, "Where is she?"

Naruto whipped around, his eyes glowing crimson. "If you hurt her-" he snarled.

"I won't."

"I'll kill you if you do." No way was he leaving the carcass for ANBU if anyone tried to harm a single hair on Sakura's head – not even if that person was his brother.

Wordlessly, Sasuke glanced behind him and took in the tense form of his blond teammate, his eyes raking over the clenched fists and gouged whisker marks. Then he smirked and walked to the end of the hallway. He reached for the handle of the first door on the left, but Naruto was suddenly shoving him away, warning glinting in his fierce glare.

"One more time, Uchiha," he growled forcefully. "I won't hesitate to snap that sorry spine if I think you're up to something. Understood?"

"Don't order me around, dobe."

That was as close to an agreement that the two could ever settle on.

She lay in the middle of the room, curled under the blanket settled over her shoulders. Faint creases in the futon near her head marked where Naruto had been sitting previously, cradling her close to his chest and transferring his warmth to her as the wounds she had inflicted on him in her sleep healed. Whether the other was aware of it or not, the pink-haired girl was important to both of them, and the two boys had trouble getting through the door.

They sat in silence, seated on either side of the slumbering girl, facing each other. Sasuke refused to look up, and Naruto refused to turn his glower elsewhere. He was very aware of the many things that could go wrong, and all forms of defense he could conjure from his head involved snatching Sakura away from the traitor the first moment he got.

When the silence hovered above them for a moment too long, Naruto was very much on the verge of putting his escape tactics to test.

"I didn't mean for it to turn out this way," Sasuke murmured.

Naruto's head snapped up to regard his rival. For a brief moment, the Uchiha glanced up to meet his gaze, and in the dark obsidian eyes, the blond saw the faint moments Sasuke always had. There were times when Sasuke Uchiha would falter, would release his guard for a short moment to ponder.

Those seconds of doubt were his conscience, his morality considering what was right and what was wrong – and they almost always only lasted a few seconds.

"It was either me or Orochimaru."

"You almost killed her."

"But instead I blinded her."

"She was in a coma for four months, bastard."

"Better than under the ground for eternity."

Naruto's eyes slowly faded into their regular shade of tranquil cerulean. He didn't understand. Sasuke had been feeding them a self-portrayed image of immorality for months now, and yet his conscience was still evidently present, appearing in the slightest forms. It was too complicated for the blond to comprehend. Even when they had been Genin, Sasuke had been particularly hard to read. Rarely any emotion touched his features, and even if they did, they rarely come out expressively. Naruto hated not knowing what those around him were thinking.

He sat back and closed his eyes briefly, exhaling a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. Team Seven were reunited – under undesirable circumstances but still together once more. He tried to find comfort in the moment – and failed miserably. He couldn't, not when Sakura was blind and the man who had inflicted such damage on her was now a twisted avenger, one who knew not where his loyalties should lie.

When he opened his eyes again, Naruto had the strong urge to close them again.

Sasuke had laid a hand on Sakura's forehead, and under his touch, the frown that Naruto had tried to soothe all evening morphed into a soft smile. The girl shifted slightly, and there was no a single line of discomfort in her features.

_It's always Sasuke_, the blond thought, trying not to sound bitter. Indeed, it seemed that the Uchiha was always a step ahead, always more prepared and suited for anything. He was the more advanced of the duo, and only through infinite training and determination could Naruto begin to inch ahead. But Sasuke never needed to pitch in the amount of effort required of Naruto. And even when, on the rare occasions, Naruto came out the victor, it was always the Uchiha that absorbed the most attention.

It hurt to realise that he would always be second-best.

It hurt more, arcing through his nerves and searing his interior beyond recognition, to see that Sakura responded to Sasuke, and Sasuke only.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"What?"

"She almost got raped this morning. You weren't there to play heroics."

He tried to ignore the constant stabbing of needles attacking his heart. "No. But you were."

"She called me."

Naruto could well imagine Sakura, alone in the dark with an imperious shadow hovering perilously above her, screaming for Sasuke. Yes, that seemed about right. She'd been doing that since they had been Genin. Oh, she'd call for good old Naruto, of course, but only when her usual saviour was unavailable. Now that Sasuke was constantly beyond her reach, she had fallen into Naruto's guard, and as much as the blond resented being second-choice, he knew he would be there to catch her when she fell, no matter how many times she tripped.

Because he had promised and, while Sasuke Uchiha gave no one his word with the knowledge that he would one day have to take it back, Naruto swore vows by basketfuls, and he always stuck to them.

He'd broken a promise to Sakura once, just once. He'd sworn to bring Sasuke back that time three years ago, but he'd failed. In its place, he had covered it with another promise; that he would bring back the damn Uchiha and made sure he never left her again, even if he had to chain the other boy to himself to accomplish it.

So, no matter how many times Sakura would cry out for someone other than him, Naruto would be there to console her in that person's place, and regardless of his own inner demons, he would fulfil whatever task she set upon his shoulders.

"She misses you."

"She's got you. She'd doesn't need me. I don't need her."

"I'm not you, Sasuke. I'm not a damn bastard. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and she's probably got more of me than she wants. She went after you all those months ago just to bring you back."

"I would have thought she'd have had the common sense not to give chase alone. And you, you shouldn't have let her follow in the first place." Sasuke looked into his teammate's eyes, neither of them relenting. "You said you would protect her. But you didn't."

It was a stab into his conscience. "I know," Naruto whispered.

At that moment, Sakura let out a choked cry and started to thrash around. Horrified, Naruto tore his gaze away from Sasuke and reached for her, wincing when sharp nails raked along his arms. He grabbed the flailing girl and held down her limbs with gentle force. He enveloped her in his embrace, holding her close. Her muffled screams shifted to be replaced by low moans, and, still lost in nightmarish slumber, she pressed her face against his chest and sobbed into his shirt.

By the time Naruto had soothed his friend's distress, whispered frantic pleas and assurances into her ear, and looked up, Sasuke was gone.

The blond stared at the spot his former teammate had occupied just moments before while he gently rocked Sakura. Sasuke hadn't left a trace as a reminder of his presence. For all Naruto knew, he might have been a hallucination, a dream as deadly as the one Sakura had just escaped from.

A tiny flicker of satisfaction glimmered within him, and he contemplated on its cause. Sakura had calmed at his touch, had found assurance in him. A person did not lie when they were unconscious of their own motions. Sakura had just told him that she needed him as much as she did Sasuke, and although he had not bettered the latter by much, it was enough for Naruto to be blissfully content.

A faint tickling prickled his skin as the cuts scattered across his arms and face started to knit together and close. Naruto smiled softly and reached for the discarded blanket, settling it over Sakura's torso. It appeared that she had calmed down. Only the wet patch on Naruto's shirt gave a hint as to what she had unconsciously done.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." He didn't realise he had said it out loud until she shifted in his arms and nestled into a more comfortable position. His grip on her cinched tighter. "You shouldn't have to go through this. I'm sorry." He shouldn't have let Kiba drag him away, shouldn't have remembered about her handicap until after he'd been torn from her frightened grasp and she'd been swept away by the crowd.

He should have been there when Sasuke had.

"Naruto?" He looked down to see Sakura's eyes open, and gently squeezed her hand.

"Hey."

"I-I thought I heard something… was someone here?"

Naruto turned his head to look once again at where Sasuke had sat. If he were still there, the three of them would be closely gathered. But he wasn't there, and no matter how much he mourned the loss of another opportunity to recover his brother, Naruto could not truly convince himself that he'd been there; he was like a phantom, a shadow that flitted in and out on its own will.

"No."

OoO

"Hey, Billboard Brow."

Sakura jumped slightly when a cool hand dropped onto her arm. Unwilling to give her rival any satisfaction, she attempted to disguise her surprise by getting up from the bench. "You're late, Ino-pig."

"Come on, what's a few minutes?" Ino sighed. She flicked her ponytail back over her shoulder and leaned in close to Sakura. "He's watching just around the corner, you know."

The pink-haired girl scowled. "I thought so."

"He's just worried about you. Pretty nice guy, if I must say so myself."

"He's just being a mother hen."

"_Father_ hen."

"Shut up."

It had been two weeks since The Incident. The two of them had come to individual conclusions; Sakura refused to confide in Naruto about her fears, and he in turn refused to let her out of his sight unless she darted into the toilet. After he'd given her the 'sit here and keep me company while I get this mission done; won't be long, there's not a lot of garbage in the stream' excuse for the fourth time, Sakura had confronted him about his ridiculous protectiveness.

She'd noticed that he'd been quieter since The Incident, but he'd begun watching her like a hawk, and even though she was blind, Sakura could well feel his gaze drilling into her flesh.

"Naruto," she'd sighed. "You're worrying too much. I won't fall off the balcony if you leave me home alone."

"No," he'd agreed, and had placed her fingers on his lips so that she knew he was grinning, as he had taken to doing whenever he expressed joyous emotions. "You'll just fall into the bathtub."

"I will not."

"You'll trip on your futon."

"Quit it."

"Mistake ping pong balls for dango."

"We don't have ping pong balls!"

"Oh. Okay then… sit on the stove."

"Why would I be sitting on the stove?"

She'd heard him chuckle, and with as much accuracy as she could, threw a punch at him. Her knuckles brushed his ear. "You pervert! I can find my way to the bathroom, thank you very much!" And she'd stomped away, fuming – to stub her toe on the edge of the couch and do a faceplant.

"Sakura!" In typical Naruto fashion, the blond had frantically circled the fallen girl several times before dropping down beside her and helping her up and checking and double checking and triple checking her for injuries. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? I didn't mean to curse you or anything, I swear! Here, let me-"

"Naruto," she interrupted firmly, huffing in exasperation. "I'm _fine_. Don't forget, I'm a kunoichi – I don't cry over stuff like that."

For some reason, he'd fell silent for a moment. "Kunoichi?" he questioned softly, and she immediately realised her slip. "Are you…"

She pursed her lip. "I don't know. I… look at me; how am I supposed to chase missing-nin if I trip on furniture?"

"But… you want to, don't you?"

"Don't ask me, Naruto, please. I really don't know."

His arm slipped around her shoulders, a reassuring weight. "Okay, okay. So where were we?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Something about stoves?" she asked sweetly.

She couldn't see, but Naruto had paled deadly fast.

"I wonder what Tsunade-sensei would say if I-"

"_No_! Please no! I'll do whatever you want, anything – just don't tell her!"

So here she was, finally free of Naruto's hawk watch.

"I think he's gone now," Ino observed. She grinned. "So what'd you do to get him to let you out of the cage?"

Sakura scowled. "Don't even remind me." She decided then and there that she would not tell her companion the five minutes of anxiety she'd endured. When she had convinced Naruto to let her out by herself, he'd reluctantly agreed. That hadn't prevented him from marching her to the meeting spot with a grip on her elbow so tight that thrusting it in his ribs would have been impossible.

It had been a torturing wait. Every minute seemed to be an hour in disguise. Sakura's hands had gone slippering with sweat in a matter of seconds. She sat on the stone bench, and as villagers passed by, all she had been able to hear was their footsteps and chatter. She'd strained to hear Ino's familiar words of greeting. After two minutes, she even found herself regretting her insistence to be alone. She would rather Naruto have stayed with her until Ino arrived. At least then she wouldn't feel alone in a dimension of darkness.

"Come on," Ino said. "I booked us a table at Fusame's." And she did something she had not done for many years.

She held Sakura's hand.

Sakura tilted her head down to confirm the gesture, remembering that it was beyond her abilities a second later. As children, the two of them had constantly skipped across the meadows, hand in hand, shouting out the letter game. Even after they had made up after the Chunin Exams, they only – rarely – linked arms when they walked. Sakura knew why Ino was doing this, though. She was doing it for the same reason Naruto was practically breathing down her neck.

Because she was blind.

"Sakura, come on," Ino scoffed, tugging gently on her arm. "We're gonna lose the table."

"Right, right."

And Ino _ran_. Sakura couldn't even utter a word of protest as she was dragged after her friend, and her legs automatically raced to keep up with the speed at which they ran. She was terrified that she would collide with something or even trip on a stone. But she didn't. She ran almost directly behind Ino, and the latter cleared a path for both of them. Turning the corners were more difficult, as Sakura commonly went fishtailing around the edge, but Ino easily tugged her back into line.

Two minutes later, Ino was checked in their reservation with a suspiciously cheery voice.

Sakura couldn't stop laughing even as they slid into their seats.

Ino raised an eyebrow at her companion, kicking her under the table when Sakura obviously failed to notice. "People are staring," she said casually, which translated into: _"Spit it out; what's so funny?"_

Sakura gasped softly for air and slumped forward on the table, her body heaving with remnants of giggles. "I haven't had this much fun since… since I don't know when!"

"Fun?"

"Naruto won't even trust me to flush the toilet without falling into it."

"Ah… I see." Ino smiled. She'd deduced as much. When Naruto had asked her to take Sakura out for a day, she'd spent the night staring at the ceiling and planning ahead. Naruto had already told her about the harvest festival, and had warned her not to mention it. He had also requested that she pretend that she was willingly seeking Sakura's company and had not been asked to, especially by him.

Ino had her doubts. Judging from the way Sakura was describing his actions, Naruto was being too cautious, as if she would break if he turned away. Ino supposed that she had been like that before, at the hospital. Giving her the 'special treatment' was a subtly obvious way of constantly reminding Sakura of her loss, and if it continued, it would be ages before the girl learned to deal with it.

So Ino had treated her as if she were _not _blind – and Sakura seemed to be having the time of her life already.

She placed an order for yakitori, dango and rice, and then crossed her arms to regard Sakura with an amused look. "So how did that feel?"

The other girl thought for a short moment. "Refreshing," Sakura said, laughing, and to Ino, she seemed to be eight years old again, grinning widely at the presents her only friend gave her.

Ino didn't know, but she had given Sakura a gift greater than any physical accessory.

"So what are we going to do today?" Sakura asked, finally letting go of the carefree enjoyment she had grasped.

"Okay," Ino grinned. She had already thought about this. "First, we'll eat, and then we'll go check out some clothes. We'll go to my house after that and I'll fix up your hair – it's a disgraceful mess. Then we can do whatever you want for two hours before I give you back to Naruto." It was a plain schedule, but by the end of the spoken itinerary, Sakura had a grin twice as wide as Ino's.

"Thanks, Ino."

"For what?"

"For… for all this. It's really helping." Sakura surprised herself with her words. She sounded like she was a patient and Ino was the counsellor. She cringed inwardly, and then recognised that the light sensation in her chest was relief. _Maybe I've been clogging myself up too much… still! I sound like a nutcase!_

When the food arrived, Ino snapped open her chopsticks and murmured her thanks, but then noticed that Sakura had not moved. It was painful just _watching _the other girl's indecision and doubt.

Sighing, the blonde picked up a piece of yakitori. "Open."

Sakura lifted her head and blinked in confusion. "Sorry?"

"Open your mouth." Sakura did as she was told, and Ino leaned across the table to drop the yakitori in her mouth. Sakura's eyes widened and she almost choked.

"I-Ino! You – why-"

"You're blind," Ino pointed out, and she fell silent. When Sakura said nothing for longer than expected, only chewing slowly, the blonde wondered if she had mistakenly interpreted the direct approach a little too quickly and bluntly.

Then, "Can I have some more?"

Ino obliged, and the custom was set in stone. Sakura smiled a lot more than necessary, and the grins usually reached her sightless eyes. Complaints and the occasional insults were exchanged, but neither girl was willing to break away.

The food disappeared between the two of them. With the last stick of dango, Ino had removed the dumplings from the stick and placed them on the plate and told Sakura to practice eating them. She didn't realise how hard it was to find your mouth with your eyes closed until now, and even though she laughed at Sakura's failed attempts and chuckled at her one success, Ino could not ease the pity that welled up within her.

"You're wearing your forehead protector," she said, surprised, noticing at last that her companion's hair did not fall over her sightless eyes as it had in their previous meeting.

Sakura turned away and laid down her chopsticks. "Yeah," she said quietly.

Ino frowned at her friend. "There's nothing wrong with that. Don't give me that face."

"I shouldn't be wearing this, Ino. I… I don't even know if I still want to be a kunoichi."

The blond girl flinched. "You're kidding."

"I'm not." Sakura bit her lip and threaded a hand through her hair, closing her eyes and resting her elbow on the table. "I think I should just back down…"

Had Ino not still valued her reputation, she would have slammed both hands on the table's surface, did her best to crack and splinter it, and leaned over to yell some sense into the girl. Instead, she hissed, "Stop right there, Sakura. I don't want to hear it."

Sakura's eyes snapped open and her mouth hung slightly open at Ino's venomous words. _Great – just when I thought we'd made up…_

"We're nine years old," Ino continued in a bitter tone, speaking as if she were attempting hypnotism. "It's exactly a year and three days before we're ten and we break up our friendship over a boy." She was too infuriated to notice Sakura's complexion darken. "We're sitting behind the counter in my family's shop, bored out of our little minds, and I ask you why you're so scared all the time. Do you remember?"

"Yes."

"_Jeez, Sakura, why do you jump like a rabbit in class and become a talkative brat out of school?"_

"Do you remember what you said to me?"

"I might."

"Billboard Brow."

"Ino-pig."

"What did you say that day? I know you remember."

Sakura sighed softly and allowed her mind to recall the various events that it catalogued.

"_You'll laugh."_

"_I won't."_

"_Everyone else will."_

"_But _I _won't. Come on, Sakura, don't you trust me?"_

"_I do… but you promise you'll still be my friend if I tell you?"_

"_Promise."_

She did not realise that tears were sliding down her cheeks until she felts Ino's cool touch against her cheek, flicking away the moisture.

"Quit crying all the time. Just because your eyes can't do anything else."

"Shut up." She wiped furiously at her eyes.

Ino watched her carefully. She had not meant to push her so hard as to reduce her to tears – but really! Giving up had always been Sakura's forte, but like everything else Forehead Girl did, she'd never particularly excelled at it. "You said-" she began, but Sakura cut through her.

"I know what I said," she said dully. She looked up, and if Ino didn't know better, she'd think that she had regained her sight. "I told you that I was nervous, always scared that I'd do something wrong."

"And why?" Ino prompted in a gentle voice.

"Because I'm the first ninja in my family line and I'm worried that I'll do a bad job of it and bring shame to the family."

"Did you?"

Sakura opened her mouth, closed it again and fell silent.

"Do you know why I asked Lady Tsunade to train me as a medic-nin?"

A nod.

"That's right. Because of you. Because you were getting too strong for me. Because you had become a damn fine kunoichi."

Keeping silent was one thing Sakura Haruno happened to be highly skilled at, and she put her talents to use.

Ino reached out, carefully scraping her arm against the table so that the blind girl would know to expect contact, and gently took Sakura's hands in her own. "I thought you could knock down the Hokage Stone with these hands of yours." She sighed. "Lady Tsunade misses you. She doesn't say anything, but I can tell. She's just sitting in her office, staring out the window, ignoring paperwork and Shizune when she tries to get her out. Paperwork and Shizune aren't all that new, but she's stopped going down to the gambling halls, Sakura, and you and I both know that she can't last ten minutes without thinking of three sevens."

Sakura found no comfort in discovering that she was causing her mentor pain. Her parents were now among the buried prone, and no matter how much she mourned their absence, she would never have them back again, not unless she was willing to perform kinjutsu, which she didn't. Tsunade had come to be her surrogate parent, one that ruled their child with an iron fist and a soft heart. The Hokage would never admit it, but Sakura would, and she could say without hesitation that she loved the sake-addicted, unlucky Legendary Sucker and was proud to be Mini Sucker.

"Tell shishou to stop worrying. Naruto hasn't tried to sell me to a brothel just yet."

"It's not the best time to joke, Forehead Girl. I shouldn't be saying this because she ordered me not to, but since you can't see, I promised you I'd be your eyes for a day… Lady Tsunade's losing it. Her jutsu, the one that keeps her looking young – it's fading a little. I saw a few wrinkles and the last time she performed handsigns for me to watch, her hands were _not _smooth."

Sakura wished she were deaf and not blind. If she were deaf, she would not have to hear Ino, and if she still had her sight, she would have been able to find her way out of the restaurant and be long gone before she could be overwhelmed with guilt.

"Go back to her, Sakura. Come back to _us_." Sakura refused to speak, and Ino scowled; she'd tried being nice and gentle, but it obviously was not having much effect. "Look – no, _listen_; I know you're still trying to get over everything. I'm pretty frustrated just _looking _at you, and I know you probably feel a hundred times worse. I won't pretend that I know what you're going through – I just know that you'd better get over it soon.

"We're all worried about you. Shikamaru, Choji, Lee, Hinata – even Neji – they want to see you, see if you're okay. But they hold back because they're scared they'll do or say something that will hurt you. Guess what – I'm not them. I don't give damn anymore. I tried handling you like glass, but you're breaking and shattering and cutting _me_. Stop falling apart! Pull yourself together and stop making us worry about you, alright? Naruto has practically locked himself in his apartment to look after you and glue himself to the door when you shower. He only ever comes out to get missions so that he can feed the two of you. Do you want him to be like that forever? If you care about him, you will bloody hell _grow up _and learn that you're not the only one who has problems in this world; you'll stop holding him back from what he's supposed to do."

Ino was breathless, and she still had many more things to say. She was aware that the few staff and customers in the restaurant were staring at them, whispering behind their hands. She snapped around to glower at them, and then immediately scattered. Then she heaved in a huge breath and prepared to dive back into battle.

"Do you… really think I can be a ninja… even if I can't see?" Sakura murmured.

She hesitated, but only to finalise her answer. "Yes. You can't give up something you haven't even attempted. You'll adapt and you'll deal – everyone does. Naruto has-" She caught herself, glanced around, and rephrased her words. "He's got the _furry thing _inside him. You think it's doing him any good? We used to hate him, remember, because everyone else hated him. Think about that, and then think about what you're crying over. What's being blind compared to being hated your whole life?"

_Nothing. Absolutely nothing._

"I get it. But-"

"No buts," Ino said firmly. She held a steely gaze with her friend's sightless eyes. "Yes or no?"

The forehead protector suddenly felt very heavy atop her head. She was tempted to rip it off and cast it away and run away from it. She had done so much to earn it, to prove herself a worthy bearer of Konoha's pride. And yet, it had only resulted in taking away her sight.

But she had known that the life of a shinobi would always be filled with continuous prospects of danger, consisting of more downs than ups – and some people didn't come out after the downs. And those that did just gathered their strength to plunge again.

"I don't know if I will get it right. I won't even be able to see where I'm throwing shuriken."

"That's a yes, isn't it?"

_Come on, Sakura – it's not too late to say no._

"Yes."

_You suck._

"Great. We'll find a way. There are thousands of jutsus and techniques – there must be a couple that you can use." Ino tapped her chin thoughtfully, quietly relieved – and then grinned.

"But before we come to that, I think Lady Tsunade might want to work on your _dodging_."

Sakura paled. But even as Ino cackled, the pink-haired girl could only slump her shoulders. There was no avoiding Tsunade's wrath, so she tried not to think about it at all until she stared punishment in the face – _That'll be never_, she thought wryly. Instead, she turned her thoughts to a certain blond who had been by her side the entire time, waiting at her elbow to catch her in case she fell, never straying far in fear that she would need him. She had told him that she would not accept his hospitality without doing something in return, but she all the little things she attempted for him could not stand against his sacrifices.

_I'm sorry, Naruto. I'll be strong now. Like you. _For _you._


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

OoO

"Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win." – _Jonathan Kozol_

OoO

**CHAPTER NINE**

"Sakura!"

She felt a slight pressure on her hand. "You sure you're ready?" Naruto whispered to her.

_No, never will be in nine lifetimes. _"I'm fine."

Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes – it made no difference anyway. Then she slipped her hand out of Naruto's, cringing when his warmth slid away and was replaced by oblivion. She let Shizune grasp her shoulders and pull her into a gentle embrace. She had forgotten how much she had enjoyed her 'sister's company.

"Hey, Shizune."

The medic-nin pulled away and beamed at the younger girl. "I haven't seen you for a long time," she said softly. "Ino told me what happened… I didn't think you would be here already. Lady Tsunade misses you. Are you ready?"

_How many people are going to ask me that? _"I hope so," Sakura smiled. She reached out an arm behind her and Naruto immediately grasped it. "You coming?"

"Nah. Too many girls. I'll wait outside for you, okay? I'm sure you've got loads of stuff to catch up on." Truth be told, Naruto didn't want to leave her side for longer than necessary. He wanted to be there with her, wanted to be the one to hold her hand and reassure her when things got out of hand. But she had to, well, she had to grow up, in a way. He wouldn't be there forever and she would have to come to terms with that. Besides, he was sure that Granny Tsunade would take care of her, and even if she did a bad job of it, he had utmost confidence in Shizune.

So, like a father giving off his daughter to her husband, he reluctantly pressed Sakura's small hand into Shizune's and implored her with his eyes to keep her safe. She smiled and nodded, briefly pulling him into a one-armed hug as she led Sakura away with the other.

Naruto smiled when Sakura turned back uncertainly. He could see it in her eyes; she valued his presence as much as he did hers. "You'll be fine, Sakura," he called, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Granny only ever hits _me_."

She turned away, chuckling. He held onto the remnants of her voice and slowly absorbed it, hoping that he had grasped enough of it to last until the original returned to him.

OoO

Tsunade had personally opened the door for her students.

No, scratch that – she had _flung_ it off its hinges, across the office and out the window.

Hence, Kotetsu and Izumo were a little busier than usual.

Sakura found herself unwilling to let go of Shizune's hand, even as Tsunade's fluttered over her face and caressed it. "What was that sound?" she asked shakily. There was a certain fright in her quivering voice. Being blind had forced her to record the event using only sound and Sakura was willing to base bets that a missing-nin had been trashing through Tsunade's office. All she had heard was:

_Knock kno-_

A muffled "Sa" - rising in volume – "kura!"

_Crack!_

_Rip!_

"About time!"

_Tinker tinker…_

"Nothing, nothing," Tsunade said dismissively. She took a deep breath. "So how are you?"

"Alright, I suppose."

"How's the brat treating you? If he's done _anything_ idio-"

"Naruto's fine," Sakura said hastily, groping for Tsunade's arm and somehow finding it immediately. "He's been really nice to me."

That, of course, resulted in a fifteen minute explanation of exactly _how _nice.

Satisfied, Tsunade reclined into her armchair with a smug smirk. "I see the kid wasn't lying much." She peered at her student, reacquainting herself with the pale face and glazed emerald orbs. It was going to take some getting used to. For once, Sakura looked like a very breakable doll at the moment, porcelain and constructed from glass, not diamond.

"Shishou," Sakura said.

"Hmm?"

"I… I want you to train me again."

Tsunade glanced sideways at Shizune. Ino had already told them beforehand, but it did not make the situation any less… eventful. "Tell you the truth, Sakura; there was no way you would have been able to leave our ranks that easily. As my apprentice, it would have started a lot of rumours if you gave up because of a handicap. I'd put a decree to restrict it if I had to, but the villagers' views of you would never be the same again. You've got no idea how glad I am that I don't have to drag you back here."

Sakura tried hard not to let her shock show. "I'm not sure if I can perform to the same standards," she mumbled. "Because I can't see now."

Shizune squeezed her shoulder assuringly. "We'll find a way. Don't worry about it."

The pink-haired girl hesitantly raised her head. "Shishou?"

She didn't realise that Tsunade was right in front of her until she felt her teacher's breath against her cheek. "If you have the will to get something right," the Fifth Hokage said sternly, cupping her student's chin in her hand, "nothing will stand between you and success. You got that?"

Sakura nodded.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

_Do I? _She paused to think about it, remembered that Naruto was just outside, pacing with anxiety. "Yes, I'm sure," she replied. The last time she had been a burden, she had almost been too heavy for Naruto to carry.

"It will take time. Kakashi's out on a short mission for a while, so I'll work with you until he comes back."

Sakura felt the blood drain from her face. "Will we be doing dodging training?" she whispered fearfully.

Tsunade should have grinned as she answered with an affirmative. She should have outlined every step of the gruesome training regime she had mapped out for her handicapped student even before Sakura had openly expressed willingness to continue being a kunoichi.

But instead, she managed only a sad smile and watched as Shizune's eyes widened at the several wrinkles that had suddenly appeared on her mentor's unlined face.

OoO

It seemed that, whenever the granny wanted him out of the way, she dispatched him off to good old Suna.

Naruto was a little less than enthusiastic when he trudged up to Konoha's gates, thrusting his identification and mission details at the Chunin on post before stuffing the papers back into his pocket and walking off. Sure, it was great to see that Gaara was doing well with his kickass occupational job as Kazekage, but Naruto would rather be back home.

He wondered if Sakura missed him.

Tsunade had temporarily placed her to live with Shizune until he returned – with the guarantee that she was not kidnapping Sakura for her own selfish needs of maintaining her student's innocent youth and virginity. Then she had practically kicked him off to Suna with a warning not to complain.

"I've seen your mission records this month," she had said when he had ignored her request and thrown a tantrum. "Just because your team is a little broken up for the time being doesn't mean you can't dig up missions for yourself. You've barely done five D-ranks and if you don't snap that spine up you and Sakura will be sleeping on the streets. You got that?"

"We're fine!" he'd insisted. "I've still got those little allowances Old Man Hokage gave me when I was little. It's not like I'm going to go broke."

"Are you arguing with the Hokage?"

"Damn right I am, Granny!"

The wall clock hit him face on. "Quit calling me that!" Tsunade cleared her throat and settled. "I'm going to start training Sakura again after you leave, so she can stay with me."

"Do I _have _to go?"

She regarded him solemnly. "I'd be better if you do," she replied.

Naruto paused. "Is this for Sakura?"

"I'm going to need a hard heart to kick her back into shape, and I don't want you to see what I might do to her."

His gaze hardened into something, if she had been present, Tsunade might have recognised as a similar glower to one he had present to Sasuke a week ago. "If she gets beaten up to a-" he growled.

"I'm a medic-nin, Naruto. Give me some faith, will you? And for Kami's sake be careful on your mission."

Presently, Naruto quickened his pace on the note of thought that Tsunade might have run Sakura nine times through hell already. His teammate had well informed him of her tough training exercises when he had asked of them, and that had been _before _she had been blind. As much as Naruto knew the Hokage loved her student like a daughter and would never inflict permanent damage without the full knowledge that she would be able to heal them, only the strongest mothers could punish their children for them to grow stronger.

Tsunade was not in her office when he arrived. Shizune was, and she was elbow deep in her master's discarded paperwork. Naruto felt a little guilty depositing his share on the pile. The medic-nin gave him a tired smile, and Naruto could not bring himself to ask her where to find the AWOL Hokage. He did, however, leave behind three shadow clones to assist her before he dashed off again.

In truth, he hadn't hard to search far. Tsunade's destructive forces of schooling immediately knocked off urban areas from Naruto's list of potential destinations. He came to the lake, and there they were. Seeing that they were in the middle of Sakura's training, he hung back and concealed himself in the trees.

Sakura did not appear to have changed much. Except that she was soaking wet, which, given that they were standing on water, was not much of a surprise. However, considering her intense chakra control, Naruto found it unusual that she would succumb easily to gravity's wrath.

But he could see how and why when Tsunade struck for the first time.

He was too far away to see the Hokage's expression, but it was one of immense concentration. They were both standing on the lake, facing each other. Sakura leaned forward slightly, as if trying to listen for sounds of movement. As they were technically supported by chakra, Tsunade's footsteps made no sound. Only her clothes made the occasional rustling, and Sakura had no warning when the fist clipped her on the shoulder and sent her spinning off balance, below the water's surface.

Naruto felt a sharp pain in his hand and realised that he had dug his nails into the bark.

Her head bobbed up after a while. Tsunade stood over her, lips pursed, as Sakura hauled her drenched self back into balance. It continued again. Amazingly, Sakura managed to slip past two potential assaults that would have had her in the water again. Naruto resisted the urge to cheer, especially when another blow pinned her down. He heard her ribs crack and splinter and tried not to throw up.

It was such a painful process. Not so to see Sakura bodily harmed, but to see her frustration when the blows connected. The effort she put in even to step and spin aside was evident. Tsunade deliberately paused and softened her intensities at times, creating lapses whenever she felt her student was wearing out too much. It pained her to realise that the only way she would be able to help her apprentice was by beating her up.

The same emotional agony erupted in Naruto after he saw Sakura get flung onto dry ground. He switched to a position closer to the teacher and student. His expression twisted when Sakura levered herself onto all fours and coughed up a wad of blood, gingerly wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. He felt an oddly ironic taste in his mouth.

Tsunade lifted a leg and stomped lightly on the ground. Tiny cracks carved into the earth, spreading toward Sakura. The pink-haired girl's sightless eyes widened and she got shakily to her feet, the ground crumbling around her. She turned around in a circle, and the helpless expression she wore broke down Naruto's resistance.

He didn't know how he got there, just knew that holding her felt very right. Her face, dripping with water, was pressed against his chest, and if he looked down, he would see that she had recognised him purely on intuition. But he wasn't paying attention to her. He looked at Tsunade with torture in his eyes.

"Please," he said, pulling Sakura closer to him. "Stop. Enough. Please."

Tsunade, through loose strands of silvery blond hair, met his gaze with a similarly pained emotion in her eyes. She took a deep breath, and then laid her hand on Sakura's head. The girl moaned softly, and then slumped in Naruto's arms. The blond gently lowered her to the ground and gazed down at her tired face. "Thank you," he muttered.

At the point of walking away, Tsunade paused. "Let her rest. I've healed her injuries."

"Is this actually helping her any?"

"A little. She's learning to detect chakra signatures and follow their movement."

"But she's still getting hurt so badly…"

"Give her time," the Hokage said tightly. "Lots of it."

Naruto nodded and gently chafed his friend's cold hands between his. "I've got loads to spare."

"This is exactly why I didn't want you to see, Naruto."

"Wish I didn't see it either."

"Are you angry?"

"No."

"Naruto…"

"I'm not. Really, Granny. You're only doing what you have to do. I'd rather she get hurt now than when you won't be there to heal her."

Tsunade nodded and turned away. "Kakashi will be coming back tomorrow. He should be able to come up with something. In the meantime, take care of her."

"You can count on that."

"And Naruto?"

He raised his head. "Yeah?"

"I don't know if she'll tell you but… she missed you."

He grinned. "She'd better have."

OoO

Naruto didn't know when he gotten so big. Either that or Sakura had shrunk.

He sat under a tree by the lake, cradling his friend's body against his. If he had any useful jutsu to dry Sakura's clothes, he would use it, but any that he _did _know would only succeed in reducing her to roasted lunch. So he stuck to body heat and simply held her.

It took her some time to wake, but when she did, he only stared wordlessly down at her.

"Where'd you go?" she mumbled, one hand fisting around his jacket.

"Suna. I told you."

"Six days?" she questioned hollowly.

"Sorry. I wanted to get back earlier but I couldn't say no to Gaara."

She nodded, and then buried her face in his chest. "It was… horrible," she sobbed, tears camouflaging with the few water drops that remained on her cheeks. "I suck. I suck. I can barely keep up with _anything_. Naruto, what am I going to _do_?"

He gently pulled away from her because he didn't want her to hear his heart cracking. "The first time always sucks," he said, wiping at her face with his thumb. "But it'll work out, Sakura. Everything always works out. Right?"

"No!"

"No?"

"Nothing ever works out."

"Yeah? How?"

Sakura sniffed. "I'm supposed to be good with chakra. But I can't even sense it properly. It's probably the only way I can ever base tracking my opponent's movements on and I'm failing it."

"Then we'll just practice until we get it right," Naruto said gently. "Come on, I'll help you."

"Naruto… I don't want to do this."

"Don't you want to be a kunoichi anymore?"

"It's not that… this won't work. Even if I don't give up, I won't be of much use to anyone."

"Don't say that. You'll be great. Some people are blind and they kick ass!"

Sakura smiled. "Yours?"

"If you like. Let's play a game, why don't we?"

"Aren't we too old for games, Naruto?" she sighed. But she sat up straighter anyway when he moved away and stood up.

Naruto performed the Shadow Clone Jutsu. "How many?"

"Including you?"

"Yup."

Sakura's face twisted in concentration. The chakra that spiked from the clones' were even and impossibly large, even for a shadow clone's coils. Naruto had deliberately placed more to lessen the difficulty. Still, it was difficult, as numerous bodies shared the same chakra signature.

"Six?"

"That's right. See? You can do this."

"Only because you're making it easy for me."

"Okay, okay. Then… I'm gonna go hide and you'll have to find me with your chakra."

The thought of being alone almost crumpled her. Almost. "Don't go too far," she whispered.

"I promise."

She thought she felt his hand against her face, but when she checked, he was gone. Still, she smiled, and she stood, reaching out for chakra spikes in the area. The silence was an illusion, an unrealistic psychological depiction. Naruto would never leave her alone. He had promised.

If she fell, he would be there to catch her. He'd promised. Sakura caught the small hint of a familiar chakra signature and turned toward it. She briefly wondered when she had begun relying on the blond knucklehead's promises, clinging to them as if they were reality. Since forever, she supposed, and because they were currently the only things keeping her sane.

And even though she didn't know, Naruto realised that too.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

OoO

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time." - _Abraham Lincoln_

OoO

If Sakura ever had to see another bowl of ramen in her life, she would run streets to avoid it.

Thankfully, such was beyond her capabilities. So she put up with it.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked. He guided her hand to the chopsticks and the other to the bowl.

"Fine," she said quietly.

"Sure?"

"Mm hmm."

A long pause. "Okay then. Let's eat."

As she was no longer capable of staring blankly, she resorted to frowning and cocking her head in confusion until her companion noticed her silence. When prompted, Sakura replied, "I didn't think you would… accept it so quickly."

Naruto gazed down at his ramen. He wanted to be there for her – he really did… but maybe he was there _too often._ Besides… "It's _your_ body," he said finally. "Only you know if it's really okay. I don't see why you would lie, but even if I did, I think I'd trust you anyway."

For a moment, Sakura was silent. Shizune had tutored her in coordination during the past couple of days, and the pink-haired girl made use of her practice to scoop some ramen into her mouth. Next to her, Naruto did the same, and she heard his characteristic slurping. For some reason, his less than passable etiquette reassured her, giving her confidence to place trust in her own voice.

"Thank you," she murmured, and the two words bore the gratitude that was beyond her ability to express in coherent speech.

Naruto patted her arm briefly, and instead of registering as a pressing weight, Sakura found his touch light and fluttering, like the wings of the butterfly she had cupped in her hands when she had been five.

He understood.

"How was Suna?" Sakura asked in a conversational tone. She realised at that moment exactly how _little_ attention she had been paying to Naruto. He had concerned himself endlessly over her wellbeing that it made her feel ashamed to have forgotten about his.

"Saw Gaara." Naruto grinned roguishly. "He tells me that there's a girl in his village who has it going for him. Apparently, it's his own student."

Sakura choked.

"You okay?" he asked, stroking her back. "Didn't anyone teach you to avoid giving your food detours?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she gasped out, coughing raggedly to clear her windpipe. "Are… are you serious?"

"Well, yeah."

"Wow… I never thought of that. Gaara… but he's a…" Furiously, she bit off the end of her sentence. It was an idiotic thing to do, judging Gaara's normality through the Shukaku. By all means, he was a friend of hers. It shouldn't even come as a test to her loyalty.

Not to mention that she would also be discriminating Naruto.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

"No, it's okay," Naruto said quietly. "Really, it is. It's great, you know, 'cause Gaara doesn't really have anyone except Kankuro and Temari to care about him. He looks after a whole village and there are only so many people who want to look after _him_. Now that this girl actually likes him, it's just like telling Suna that people like us aren't so bad." It was impossible to miss the note of bitterness.

Sakura put down her chopsticks and leaned toward her friend, trusting his shoulder to be there. It was. Just like always. "You're just like any other person," she whispered. "Better, actually."

He chuckled. "You think so?"

"Yes. It's normal to love, Naruto, even for someone as special as you."

He didn't respond until many hours later, after he had settled her to sleep. He sat against the wall, legs drawn up to his chest and chin resting on his knees.

As the first glimpses of the sun peeped through the curtains and he got up to return to his room, Naruto gazed down at Sakura and found himself smiling.

"I wouldn't care if it wasn't," he whispered, and then closed the door behind him.

OoO

It was back to the fish.

Her hands slipped several times while she performed the handseals. She carefully focused a select amount of chakra into her hands, and then murmured for Shizune to guide her to her 'patient'. She didn't feel the dried hide, robbed of its slimy moisture, under her fingers. It helped create an illusion that she was not tending to an animal that could well have been her dinner, instead healing an injured ninja.

It made her stomach seem that much heavier.

There was one thing good about the fish that dominated over a human; Sakura didn't necessarily require her eyesight. The fish had died of lack of water, not blood. She did not have to look for and target wounds, merely had to project her awareness into reawakening the stopped organs.

Technically, medical jutsu could not bring back the dead. It could halt and pull back those at the Shinigami's arms, but could only stop at the gates if the person had already passed through. This applied to humans and the majority of wildlife.

Not fish, though. Their structure did not contain nearly as many complex blood vessels or chakra networks as a human. The organs were small and fairly Spartan; Sakura wouldn't even have to reconnect any vessels. The fish could not have been dead for longer than twenty four hours, however. There wasn't any particular reasoning behind it; it would just make her job a hell of a lot simpler.

"You need to focus more chakra," Shizune said. "This fish is bigger than the usual ones," she added apologetically.

Sakura bit her lip and summoned a trickle of chakra down her arm. So she needed her sight after all… _It sucks to be blind._

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, steeling herself for another attempt.

"Sakura."

"Yes?"

"Don't… push your limits."

"Don't worry, Shizune. I won't."

Lying came all too easily these days.

OoO

At first she thought she was lying.

"His pranks aren't funny, nor are yours, shishou," she had said dryly.

If only she could see Tsunade's expression. She could _feel_ it, though, and Shizune's hand on her shoulder suddenly got very, very heavy. Sakura had seen women fall at news such as these, their knees just buckled and they sunk to the ground like a stone. She felt like doing that just now.

But Naruto wasn't dead. He just… hadn't come back yet. For a shinobi, this would be legitimately ordinary… except Naruto had been assigned a simple D-rank and was not required to leave the village. That and he had left her with a promise, and Naruto Uzumaki would never break a promise.

"Maybe he got lost," she murmured. Shizune's hand moved down to grip hers. "The forest is so big… you know Naruto – he's always being an idiot and losing his way." Naruto had been hired to do some basic labour for a farmer in his yard. He should have been back before Sakura had finished her training.

Shizune noticed her young companion's silent anxiety. "I'm sure he was just delayed by something like that," she said quickly, glaring at her mentor. Tsunade's narrowed eyes, clouded with unspoken worry, were focused on Sakura. "Naruto doesn't really have any sense of time, we all know that."

"Yeah. He'll be back."

"Yes," Shizune agreed, relieved to see that Sakura's view had changed. "We'll wait for him."

Sakura was silent, but for a moment, Tsunade could have sworn that her youngest pupil was staring at her. "Shizune," the Hokage said. The medic-nin turned to her, but Tsunade only frowned at the pink-haired girl. "Please take Sakura back to Naruto's place."

"Lady Tsunade, I don't think…" Shizune bit off the rest of her protest. It was in her reflexes to question almost anything her mentor said; it was the reason why they were both free of debtors. But did Tsunade really think that shooing off Sakura now would make the girl feel any better? Alone in that empty house with walls that she could not ever stare at… Shizune didn't even want to imagine it.

Then she had seen Tsunade's unrivetting gaze, and suddenly Shizune could no longer find it in her interests to remonstrations. Tsunade had used _that _voice, the voice of a Hokage who knew what she was doing.

She tugged gently on Sakura's arm. "Come, Sakura." The girl nodded and paused briefly to bow in respect to acknowledge their master's presence before turning and allowing herself to be led away.

"Sakura." Tsunade's voice was emotionlessly hard, like steel.

"Yes, shishou?"

"The kid will be fine. He'll come back to you in one piece. I give you my word."

Sakura swallowed thickly. "He promised he would make something other than ramen for dinner today," she whispered. "Naruto never breaks a promise."

Tsunade's eyes widened as her students departed. By all respective means, Sakura had just stated that she didn't need the Sannin's word, since she already had Naruto's. She was willing to place her faith in the boy's. Tsunade admitted to be aging more than she would like, but she had not yet reached the period where her eyesight faded. She could see it. Sakura depended on Naruto more heavily than she had thought to begin with.

For the first week, the Hokage had assigned an ANBU to monitor her blind student. The reports had been satisfactory… and disturbing. Sakura leaned strongly toward Naruto's care and the nurture he could offer. It was as if he had become her eyes, a plank of wood that would shift under her feet to cover the rough terrain.

There was no telling how far Sakura would fall if that piece of stability was torn from her grasp.

Tsunade reclined in her seat and gently massaged her temples. With a kick of her feet, her chair spun around to face the large window that took up an entire wall of the office. It had begun raining. It rarely rained in the Fire Country. Perhaps it was an omen…

But Tsunade Senju had ceased believing in psychological prophecies the day she had met one Naruto Uzumaki.

"Don't keep me waiting, kid," she murmured under her breath. "And don't break her." But then, you couldn't break anything that was already in pieces.

OoO

She insisted that Shizune left her outside Naruto's apartment. The medic-nin had been sceptical about leaving her alone in the approaching darkness, but the younger girl's insistence eventually dominated, and Sakura found herself laying a hand on the handle. She could find her way up those stairs with her eyes closed. Literally.

Her throat clogged when she inserted a small amount of her chakra into the handle. Naruto had specifically altered his lock so that it would only be unlocked by a recognised chakra signature. He had not said it aloud at the time, but Sakura knew that it was for her convenience. He was always thinking of her. Always.

It wasn't like she didn't know he was not there when she stepped inside. She called for him anyway, her voice soft as if she were afraid of waking him from his slumber. For a moment, she thought she could hear his distant response… but it was just her own voice echoing back at her, hollowly informing her of what she already knew.

Sakura slipped out of her sandals like she always did… except this time, there was no Naruto to steady her balance. She laid a hand on the walls and felt her way to the main room. She felt strangely light and empty. Perhaps grief or anxiety should be in their place, but Sakura could not locate such emotions. There was no need to mourn. Naruto was not dead. She repeated it like a mantra.

Perhaps his sympathy had gotten the better of him and he had been manipulated by the old farmer to labour for a few extra hours. It was the sort of thing Naruto would do. It just wasn't in his arsenal to deny assistance. A small smile tilted her lips as she lowered herself onto the couch. She could see it so clearly in her minds eye.

Bending over, lifting the last haystack, dumping it in the yard, wiping his sweat, turning to bade goodbye to the farmer, expressions shifted rapidly as the man murmured about the ache in his lower back and the cows that had to be milked. Being Naruto, he would grin and turn to the paddocks and-

_-he's fine, just fine, not dead, no, not dead–_

-and forget about her… no; Naruto wouldn't do that. But he wasn't here… didn't he think about her? Yet, he was an idiot. He wouldn't think ahead, wouldn't realise just how much she cared about his safety. He only ever thought about other people, never considered how _they_ would feel if _he_ was hurt. Just like that, he was an idiot, one so thick-skulled and naïve that-

_-he wouldn't just leave me like that, he promised-_

-that he was too kind. Just too kind. What if, Sakura pondered, he woke up and _wasn't _kind. How would life change because of it? Would the villagers' hatred deepen or would they learn to respect him? Or would they grow fearful? Would he still care about her? Still stay by her side, still hold her, still motivate her, still be _her_ Naruto?

The questions gave her a splitting headache. Sakura winced and stretched out on the couch, pressing her face against the leathery surface. Too many thoughts, too many possibilities, too many damn things to deal with. She heaved in a ragged breath and held it, her hands clawing at her face, her clothing, her hair. There was nothing to hold, nothing to divert her attention.

Maybe that was what Naruto was in the end; an oversized stress ball.

_-no stress, no worries, he's _fine_, he'll be my ball, mine-_

If it was possible, Sakura's head felt inflated and stuffed. She could _feel_ the skin expanding under the pressure, stretching taught with tension. It hurt. She endured until she could no longer endure, and by then her mind had exhausted itself. Subconsciousness faded toward the bliss darkness of unconsciousness.

Sleep claimed her, and it was a good thing it did, because Sakura would not have boded well with the tears that steadily seeped under her closed eyelids.

_-not here, gone, come back, come home, Naruto…_

OoO

He felt like a father. A father returning from a long day of work, wearily stopping by the stand to drop off his coat. He felt very old.

And she looked so young. It seemed that she had fallen asleep waiting for him. She lay on the couch the same way she might have on a stone bench three years ago. He crouched down so that their faces were level. The dried tracks beneath her eyes suggested tears. Smiling sadly, he gently wiped them away with his thumb.

She stirred and mumbled incoherently. Like a kid. He carefully lifted her, and then sat down in her place, cradling her like he had so many times, for so long. It felt right to hold her, to feel her warmth, her weight … but yet so _wrong_ considering what his hands had done _other_ than console her. He was afraid of tainting her beatific innocence.

But he couldn't pull away. She was his reality, his _sanity_.

As he stroked her hair, wondering at the fine strands and what she would do to him if she found out he had been touching them, he also wondered if his absence had worried and concerned her, and, like all other missions, if she had missed him.

Yet this mission was different. Suddenly, he was overcome with the desire to _know_, and so, he selfishly shook her awake.

She woke like she always did; head suddenly jerking to one side in reflex, lips parted as if to yawn, sightless eyes fluttering open and, eventually, focusing on what she could see and he could not. She responded vocally in the same way as well, mumbling his name. She said it once, as if to test the efficiency of her tongue, and then again in a louder voice.

"Naruto…?"

"Did you miss me?" he whispered.

It seemed that, at that moment, she was fully awake. She began something along the lines of "Where did you…" and then her voice faded. Instead, she grasped his hand and answered, in an equally fragile whisper, "Yes."

He nodded, but the gesture did little to portray the immense relief and loosening of his stomach. Such reactions to a single word were silly and childish. Not that he was anything else.

"Don't hold me so close," she muttered, though she did not move away. "I haven't taken a shower yet."

"It doesn't matter," he replied quietly. "I need one too." He didn't tell her how many times he had splashed into the lake, how many times he'd had to use the fire jutsu Granny Tsunade had taught him to dry his clothes only to jump back into the water minutes later, unable to wrench the horrific images and scent of death from his body. He couldn't get rid of the sticky feeling, as if he had dipped his hands in blood.

Her silence was comforting. He knew she was waiting, carefully disguising her impatience. Eventually, he would have to tell her, but her understanding and restraint was so unusually reassuring that he tried to hold onto it for as long as he could.

"Missing-nins," he said emotionlessly. He felt her stiffen and the pressure as her hand squeezed his. "From Kiri." It was… nice how she didn't ask how, why or what. He couldn't trust his voice not to crack under the interrogation.

"Did you get hurt?" she murmured.

"No."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

A short moment of silence. "Did _they_ get hurt?"

"No."

"Oh."

"I killed them." His teeth grinded together at the memory. How he had incapacitated them, he didn't remember. It was all just a collage of flashing motions and movements. They had attacked first, that much he knew. It was a blessing of Kami that he had been returning and that the farmer had not been with him. The elderly man did not need to see spilt blood.

He hated to kill. He wasn't heartless. His chest hurt every time his opponents' were slashed open. It was cold-blooded murder, and it made him feel more like all the other murderers; Orochimaru, Akatsuki… Sasuke. At that thought, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and tried to force the impression from his consciousness.

When he opened them again, he was no longer holding her. _She _was holding _him._ She was smaller than him, but he fitted so well in her arms. It felt so good to be held, and although he knew he was supposed to be the stronger one, the pillar, he let himself curl into a ball and rest his head against hers.

"Sorry," she said softly.

"'S not your fault," he mumbled. "I'm fine."

"If you say so."

He wondered if this was how his father had felt; coming home after a particularly dreary and daunting day, leaving his coat on the rack. Did his mother comfort him?

Suddenly, he felt like a child.

"At least there's one good thing," he chuckled. "I got us roast chicken for dinner. I kept my promise."

"You always do, Naruto."


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

OoO

"Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell." –_ Edna St. Vincent Millay_

OoO

It was warm. Well, _he _was warm. He was a heaving mass under her body, his heated breath brushing against the side of her cheek. His arms were intertwined gently around her waist, one hand reaching up to play with the ends of her hair.

She imagined that he was uncomfortable, with her lying on him, her hip thrust against his ribs and her head laid across his chest, restricting his lungs' capability to inhale. From the way his cheek had started pressing against the top of her head, she deduced that he was tired.

"Naruto?" She hated to break the comforting silence that had blanketed them. Her voice was as soft as she could make it, though it still disturbed the serene atmosphere.

"Hmm?" She felt it before he said it, the faint rumble in his chest giving away his response before it left his lips.

"I think I can sleep now."

"'Kay. Goodnight."

Although she was reluctant to be deprived of his reassuring presence, she said, "What I meant was, I think I should go back to my room now. My bed."

"Aren't I comfortable?" he asked. She could picture his humoured pout.

"I am, but you aren't."

"Huh?"

Reaching down to pick up one of his hands, she tugged at his fingers like a child would their father's. "You won't get any sleep if I continue using you as my futon."

"But you're comfortable."

"I know that."

"No, I meant, _you_ are comfortable."

She sighed. "I know…" Then she slapped him as realisation came. "You pervert."

It was easy to picture his grin. His arms tightened around her. "Really, it's fine. It's lonely out here anyway." His fingers fluttered around her left elbow, gently caressing it. "Does it still hurt?"

Closing her eyes, she pressed closer to him. "No."

"Okay then. Just be careful next time."

It had been the first time that she had sought him out rather than him coming to investigate. She would have waited for sleep to come again… but she knew that she would only see it again. For some reason, she was under the impression that Naruto's presence would ease the horrific image from her mind.

"So…" His voice was soft, gentle, and she knew it was coming. "What did you dream about?"

It was possible that he knew she was pained by the experience, because his hand squeezed hers and he rubbed her back. She closed her eyes under the rhythmic treatment. "Orochimaru," she answered after a while.

He waited.

"In his body." Even as he wordlessly pulled her closer against him, cradling her as if she were a fragile doll, she was gripping at the fabric of his pyjamas and burying her face in his chest. "Will Orochimaru really get to him, Naruto? I… I can't… I don't want…" Her voice cracked and a familiar sensation pricked at the back of her eyes. She held them back. _I will not cry… I will _not _cry._

"It's okay, it's okay," Naruto's voice murmured. "Sasuke's slippery. He's not that easy to get. We know that, don't we?"

She pressed her face harder against his chest, as if seeking the hole that had been mended years ago. "Yes," she whispered, sighing. "He'll be okay… but, Naruto, this is Orochimaru we're talking about. How can Sasuke…"

"Sakura, listen to me," he said. "Sasuke won't get taken by the bastard snake. I won't let it happen."

"I know." Her sigh was heavy, and it shuddered with unspoken uncertainty. "Naruto…" She seemed to shake her head. "Nothing."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

"Tell me, Sakura. Please?"

"I'm… I'm scared, Naruto." Her words struck out as if they had come to life and sank their ruthless fangs in his skin, tearing his flesh and, ultimately, his heart. Why was she scared? Was he not enough to hold back the floodgates? He was Naruto Uzumaki, the one-man army. What dared venture past his defences?

"Sasuke?" he questioned in a low voice.

Her silence was all he needed to hear.

"Sakura, tell me something… do you want Sasuke back?"

"Yes, of course," she said, as if it was not in question not to. "More than anything."

His chest burned, his skin flamed where she was pressed against him. It was hard to speak, since his throat had closed on itself. He squeezed his eyes shut, taking in deep breaths. Forcing himself to nod, he said, "Then I'll bring him back for you. Soon."

Sleep was finally starting to claim her. She squirmed to find a better position, and he automatically adjusted himself to suit her needs. "Keep away from him," she murmured drowsily to an invisible Orochimaru. Naruto didn't know if she had heard him.

The sun took a long time to rise.

OoO

"I want to see the granny."

Shizune paused and looked up at the familiar voice. "Naruto?" she asked, surprised. She walked over and dropped the stack of books she was carrying onto the guarding Chunins' desk. "What is the matter?"

Kotetsu Hagane turned to her, bowing shallowly before answering, "He wants to see the Hokage."

She turned to the blond, who had been suspiciously wordless. "Lady Tsunade isn't here at the moment." She paused to think. "I would say that she's at the Academy again; she likes playing with the chi-" She broke off when Naruto nodded and pushed past Izumo, passing Shizune with a muttered "Thanks".

For a while now, Shizune had regarded Naruto as a little brother. She didn't dare say that she knew him as well as her master, but even one as inexperienced in reading the hyperactive blond could tell that something just wasn't right. Naturally, when she knew something wasn't right, Shizune would want to know what was _wrong_.

"Take these to the storeroom," she told Izumo, then went off after Naruto. He had disappeared fast – probably realised that she wasn't going to give up – but Shizune wasn't a Jonin and apprentice of a Sannin for nothing. She caught up with him just as he was going down the staircase.

"I won't assassinate her, I promise." A failed attempt at a chuckle and his bright humour.

"Naruto, is something wrong with Sakura?"

He paused a little longer than necessary – Shizune's stomach took a dizzying plunge – but then he shook his head and pouted. "What, you think I can't take care of her?" Before she could respond, he went on, shaking his head. "Nah. She's fine. I take good care of her."

Shizune released her held breath. "Don't scare me like that." Naruto looked curiously at her. It was her turn to shake her head as she returned to the main subject. "Why do you want to see Lady Tsunade, Naruto? Is it urgent? You can tell me if it is."

Silence.

"Naruto?" Shizune frowned at the boy. He looked torn. She reached for his arm, but then he spoke.

"I want to ask for permission to leave the village for a bit."

"I… see. But I'm sure it can wait – oh." It wasn't what he said that alerted and reminded her. Rather, it was the way he had said it – solemnly, his gaze distant and dark, as if he was planning, thinking deeply. It was like going through Kakashi all over again.

Shizune wasn't blind. The proposition was too sudden, too abrupt, to be an accurate judgement of what Naruto _really_ wanted. Naruto Uzumaki was the sort of person to yell out his intentions before actually concluding and deciding. Shizune knew from experience that sudden decisions were often accompanied by horrific outcomes.

"Come with me, Naruto," she said quietly. Without looking at the Chunin, she continued down the stairs.

"But Shizune, I want to see-"

"Later. Come with me."

Shizune shouldn't have been surprised when she heard Naruto's meek footsteps following hers. After all, her tone had left no room for disagreement.

OoO

Hinata Hyuga had neutral opinions of many things. She neither despised nor adored them. Running errands was among such a list. She didn't mind having her leisure time interrupted by a request for her to run down to the tailor's. At least her father had personally gone down to her room and, without gruff disapproval or cold disdain, asked her to perform such a task. It was no longer an order, a single emotionless sentence that would likely be the only conversation Hinata had with her distant father. But now it was different… or at least she would like to think it was.

Sometimes, when given the time to ponder, Hinata would notice peculiar things. For one, she noticed that Hiashi never asked Hanabi to order another batch of weapons or to tailor regal kimonos. It was always Hinata, and although she had no complaints, it still thumped dully in her chest how their father still seemed to favour her younger sister. Of course, Hinata would sooner act out of hatred than jealousy, and it would really be ridiculous if she was able to summon the former.

But she couldn't exactly feel unwanted anymore, could she? If performing errands for her clan would intensify their reliance – as much as the almighty Hyuga could rely on _anyone_ – on her, make her feel needed, required, _wanted,_ Hinata would gladly remain a Chunin for the rest of her life to be given this privilege.

Just this thought alone told Hinata that she had changed. Once upon a time, she would have instantly removed herself from the shinobi kind should it please her father. Not anymore. The Leaf and her teammates needed her more than her desire for her family's attention.

A clan meeting was coming up, and for that occasion Hiashi had ordered several kimonos; Hinata, her sister and, unsurprisingly by this time, Neji. Hinata was slightly embarrassed by the way the tailor practically _tripped_ over himself to serve her. She gave him the orders and measurements, told him that she needed them by next week. She was glad to be out of the shop. Being a Hyuga was tiring.

Hinata knew she should be heading back to the compound to inform her father that there were no complications. It was what she usually would have done… but not today. It was her day off and Hiashi hadn't exactly specified that he required her for another task. Looking for loopholes was not the thing a Hyuga should lower themself down to but Hinata had been told so many times that she was not fit to be one that it had become integrated with her being. Her father no longer said such things, of course. There were times when he would even comment on her abilities and note improvement. Those mere words could make Hinata glow.

The main street was a more crowded than usual. Hinata carefully picked her way through, pausing occasionally to look around for some food stands. It was on one such pause that she spotted a familiar face sitting on a nearby bench. Hinata would have missed her had the grocer's loud advertisement of fresh cucumbers not drawn her attention to that direction.

"Sakura?"

The pink-haired girl lifted her head from her hand in surprise. She frowned and shook her head. "Hello…?"

Hinata could have stabbed herself then and there; the likelihood of the blind girl hearing her over the bustle was minimal. She leaned in closer. "Sakura, it's me. Hinata." She was careful to lay her hand on her fellow kunoichi's shoulder only after she had started speaking. She had seen how Sakura had been startled when Kiba had done that during their last gathering.

Sakura's face cleared, the confusion replaced by a smile. "Oh, hello Hinata."

"What are you doing here?" The "by yourself" was unspoken but just as loud. Hinata cringed; Kiba had made it no fairytale that she 'sucked' at lying.

To the Hyuga girl's surprise, Sakura gave a small, sheepish smile. "I thought I'd be able to deal with going around on my own," she admitted, obviously not missing the main direction of her companion's concern. "Guess I was wrong. I should be close, though. It's just the noise that's interfering with my sense of direction. Guess I've been spending too much time around Naruto," she added roguishly.

Hinata knew she should be offering her aid to her handicapped company. Unlike errands, helping friends didn't go under the neutral column. She would be _delighted_ to be of any help. But Sakura was a… slightly different case. She was still a friend, of course; anyone from the original Rookie Nine – possibly even Sasuke, after all he had done to them, to Sakura, to Naruto – was a friend worthy of more than anything Hinata had to offer.

However, Sakura was not _just_ a friend. Kiba probably hadn't meant to create a somewhat gulf between them when he had said it but Hinata still remembered his description of the other kunoichi: competition. For Naruto.

"Yeah, I know he likes her," Kiba had muttered to her, "but that doesn't mean nothing if she doesn't like him back. And besides, even if she does," he'd nudged her at that point and probably would have aimed a little higher than her ribs if Shino hadn't stoically been standing behind them, "I'm sure he'll fall for you sooner or later, Hinata."

So Sakura was… competition. Not just a friend… Hinata shook her head. It was no reason to act like this. Ino and Sakura had been rivals over Sasuke and they… what had they been like? Since they were friends now, Hinata had a little difficulty recalling their attitude toward each other in their previous years. But that was different, anyway. With Naruto, his heart was set on Sakura. If he had any interest in her, Hinata Hyuga, he would have made a point of it sometime in history. But he hadn't, and when she watched from a distance, she could see that Sakura was more tolerant of her teammate than she dared show. Particularly now, after Sakura's loss of eyesight.

"I think I'm going to need your help," Sakura was saying. She should not have to ask, Hinata realised. She hoped the other girl didn't think she thought her to be bothersome.

"Of course. Where was it you wanted to go?"

It would be selfish of Hinata to try and claim Naruto. No, it would be a crime. Naruto was already Sakura's whether she knew it or not, whether she _wanted _him or not. It was a crime to steal. Hinata Hyuga wasn't a criminal.

Sakura stood up, smiling. "Ichiraku Ramen."

OoO

Naruto grimaced as he lifted the cup of tea to his lips. He hated tea! He'd rather have water than tea; it was too traditional, too _boring_. Everyone drank tea; at home, during meetings, school – he'd even seen some shinobi carrying thermoses during patrols. Everyone drank tea. Naruto didn't want to be 'everyone'.

Obviously, Shizune was knowingly punishing him.

He had been expecting an argument from Tsunade. She would obviously disagree with him leaving the village for anything outside the standard missions. But he hadn't counted on Shizune. He hadn't thought much of the Hokage's apprentice, at first. Until he had seen her fight, Naruto hadn't even considered that she was a combative kunoichi. She was just too… nice for it. He had lost count of how many times she had, despite knowing that his tenant would deal with it eventually, healed his wounds for him. It was a sign that she cared regardless of what monster was inside him. Naruto respected her for that. She was like Iruka-sensei, a sibling not by blood but through a bond that he knew would be there for as long as she considered him her brother.

Naruto hadn't thought that Kiba had meant it when he remarked that older sisters were not only annoying, but also overly protective. Apparently, Shizune was a very good sister. Smart, too. She had deduced his intentions before he'd been able to solidify them.

"This leaving the village thing… you want to go look for Sasuke." They were sitting in one of Konoha's many teahouses, in a private room that was apparently reserved for the Hokage and her assistant during these hours. They would have privacy.

"Yes," Naruto sighed. There was no point denying it. _And I didn't even get to reach the Hokage._

It was Shizune's turn to sigh. Hers seemed heavier than his. "Are you doing this for Sakura?"

His lips pressed closed. All he allowed was a shake of his head.

"Naruto," Shizune said warningly.

He made a face.

"Naruto, please. Be serious for once. Are you doing this for Sakura?" She took his silence to be a 'yes'. "Did she say anything?"

_Oh yeah – made it pretty clear she wanted the bastard back._ He nodded.

Shizune wrapped her hands around her cup. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Orochimaru-"

"I don't care!" Naruto growled. She regarded him steadily and he winced when he realised that he had stepped out of line. "Sorry. I'll be extra careful. I'll even go ask Granny Tsunade to give me a team. I'll go get that bas-"

"It isn't about your safety anymore, Naruto."

He stopped. "What?"

Shizune took a deep breath and raised her gaze to meet his confused one. "You're willing to go to Sound and fight one of the Legendary Sannin to get back Sasuke Uchiha for Sakura. But you're not willing to stop and think how your decision will affect her."

"I did. She wants Sasuke back, I'll go get him for her. I was going to do it sooner or later anyway. She'll be happy."

"No, Naruto. You're thinking in the wrong direction. She wasn't demanding you to retrieve Sasuke, was she?"

"No, but-"

"If you really care about her," Shizune cut in, "you will think, not about what she wants, but what she needs." Without pausing, she continued, "She needs you, Naruto. Losing her sight was a great shock to her, I'm sure you can see that. She needs you there for her. Sakura depends so heavily on you. Do you realise what your death will do to her?"

She would miss him, of course, hopefully. She would cry, she would beat at his body, crack his broken ribs and attempt to heal him. She would scream his name and hate him forever. She would get over him and turn to Sasuke. Naruto shoved that thought away. "I'm not planning on dying. I won't die."

"I have known you long enough to realise that you are capable of making the impossible reality," Shizune said softly. "But you have to draw a line somewhere. Eventually, you might be able to defeat Orochimaru. It doesn't seem to me that Sasuke wants to leave, but you may eventually surpass him enough to drag him back to the village if you must."

Yes, that was exactly what Naruto had in mind. He would drag the bastard through dirt, through swamps, through _hell_ for what he had done to Sakura. Brother or not, anyone who hurt his Sakura, emotionally or physically, was a foe, an enemy.

"Now isn't the time, though."

"Yes it is."

"It isn't. In a few years time-"

"I don't have a few years. Sakura wants him back. Now. I do too."

"She wants both of you!" Naruto blinked. Shizune was shouting. The only other time he had heard her shout was the night he and Jiraiya had found Tsunade. "How do you think she will feel when she finds out that you died because of her? It will break her. She wouldn't want Sasuke Uchiha anymore; she would pray for _you_ to return to her. How will you please her then? Even you can't return from the dead, Naruto!"

Wordlessly, Naruto turned to the window. He hadn't thought that deep yet. He'd had what had remained of the night and most of the morning to decide. All throughout it, though, only three words had been clear out of the muddle that had clogged his mind: _Get Sasuke back._ Sakura wanted him back. She wanted him back more than anything.

More than him…

Naruto stood up so suddenly that Shizune had to make a grab for his cup to prevent it from spilling. Before she could ask ("Naruto, what are you-") he had raced to the door, yanked it open, and darted out. She made to follow him, but then he returned with two companions in tow. Shizune got up anyway.

"Sakura, what were you doing out there by yourself?" Naruto exclaimed. He anxiously circled around her, checking for signs that she had yet again tripped and injured herself. Thankfully, she was unscathed. He breathed out a sigh of relief. What would he do if she'd hurt herself? Again? He would never let her out of his sight for the next twenty-four hours. Again.

"Are you as blind as I am?" Sakura asked, finding his face with more accuracy than he thought her capable of. She slapped her palm in the middle of his face. "Hinata's with me. And it's rude not to say hi, you know."

"Hi Hinata," Naruto said, looking over the top of Sakura's head to grin at the other girl. Hinata tried not to notice that, after he had meekly removed it from his face, he did not let go of Sakura's hand. He pressed her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her despite her (half-hearted) protests. And the smile. He had been frowning when he had come out of the teahouse to meet them. Now he was smiling. It wasn't the same as his usual grin; it was much more joyful and exuberant.

It was all Hinata needed to see. "Hello, Naruto." It was easier to talk now. There was no pain in losing something that hadn't been yours. "Having tea with Shizune?"

"Shizune?" Sakura said abruptly, pulling her head away from Naruto's chest. "She's here?"

"Not anymore," Shizune answered. "The tower of paperwork Lady Tsunade hates so much actually takes time to build."

Hinata could take a hint, even if it was just a hand on her shoulder. She was just about ready to leave anyway. Her presence would be as disruptive as a fire jutsu. "My father is expecting me," she said. She lightly touched Sakura's arm. "Ino tells me that she might organise a picnic soon. Would you like to come?"

Sakura smiled and laid her hand over Hinata's. "Sure."

"Can I come too?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Hinata looked to up meet his gaze. "Of course, Naruto." As Shizune moved toward the door, she suddenly remembered, and held out a plastic bag to Naruto. At the puzzled look on his face, she said, "Sakura bought this for you." Then she left.

"Ne, Sakura, what'd you get me?" He peered into the bag. "Ah! Ramen! But what for?" Perhaps it was natural for him to lighten up at the sight of her. Now, holding her, having her close, Sasuke wasn't such a big deal. He wondered if she felt that way, too. Probably not. She still wanted _him_. If it would make her happy though…

"Naruto." He pulled her down to sit on the tatami floor. "I don't remember a lot of it but I think I said some things I didn't mean last night."

He pulled out the cup of heated ramen, rustling the plastic bag more than necessary to hunt for the chopsticks. "Um… I don't really remember that far," he lied.

"I do." She laid her hand on his knee. She didn't even need to search. It was always there. He was always nearby. "I didn't mean it, Naruto."

"What?"

"When I said I wanted him back… more than anything. I don't."

He froze. "You don't?"

"I do."

_Idiot! What did you think it meant, huh?_ "Then…"

"Just not more than anything."

The ramen was suddenly forgotten. "Sakura, what are you talking about? I don't get it."

She sighed. "Last time I said something like that, you almost died trying to fulfil your promise to me. I don't want that, not anymore. I shouldn't let you do all the work. I know I've been set back a few steps – a mile, actually – but I'll get there. I'll get stronger. We'll get him back together."

"I can do it, Sakura." _I don't want you to get hurt. _"I'll get him back, teach him a lesson." _For hurting you._ "Make sure he doesn't leave." _You._

"Together," she said firmly.

"Sakura…"

"One day, we'll do it together."

He didn't like the sound of that. The last time she had tried to stop Sasuke, he had knocked her out. The next time, she wouldn't be waking up. Naruto knew he was only human. Even with the demon fox sealed inside him, he was only human. He couldn't protect everyone. He had failed once, twice. Sakura had gotten hurt. He hadn't been there.

He remembered what Shizune had said: _"Do you realise what your death will do to her?"_

Did she realise what Sakura's death would do to _him_?

"_It will break her."_

It would kill him.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

He shook his head to clear it of his thoughts. "Sorry, what?"

"I'm sorry," Sakura repeated.

"For what?"

"It was selfish of me to say that – wanting him back more than anything. After all you've done for me I just pushed you away. I didn't mean to say that. I was delirious, I suppose. I'm sorry. I don't want him back more than I want you to stay with me. Don't leave, Naruto."

"Sa… Sakura…"

"Sasuke probably doesn't even want to come back," she said ruefully. "Maybe I'm looking at the wrong direction. But you, Naruto, you've been by my side since… since forever, I suppose. Remember when my parents passed away? You were there to hold me," at this, his arms cinched tighter around her, "like this," she agreed. "You kept telling me that it'd be okay. You said it so many times that it was annoying. But I believed you. Because you were _Naruto_. You were always right."

He moved so that she sat between his legs. She leaned back into his shoulder and he rested his head on hers. "It'll be okay," he murmured.

"That's annoying," she laughed softly. Then she was serious again. "See? Even now, when I'm… blind, you still manage to make it okay. Tell you the truth, Naruto, I'm scared of a lot of things. Scared of cockroaches. Scared of Sasuke's body getting taken over by Orochimaru… scared of you leaving."

"I won't leave," he promised.

"I know. It's just that… when you were missing a few days ago, I was really scared. I didn't think you were dead, I thought you were… gone."

"Sorry." He pulled her closer. He could smell her shampoo – he had been sure to pack it from her house and to keep buying the brand. The brand that Kakashi's dog used. Naruto liked it.

She raised a hand to his arm. "Please don't be mad at me, Naruto." Her voice was small, so familiar. He wished he was bigger, so he could envelop her like one big balloon. A balloon that didn't pop. A balloon that could protect her forever. "I do want Sasuke back, but I don't if it means you'll go away. I don't want to lose my best friend."

It hit Naruto like one of Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu. Not the fact that she only regarded him as a friend, nothing past 'best'. It was the realisation. The heavy, horrifying realisation.

Even if he somehow managed to get Sasuke back, even if it cost him his life, would the bastard take care of Sakura the way he did? Would he remember to hold her hand when they walked through crowds? Would he _let_ her hold his hand? Would he know that she liked hot chocolate after she got back from training? Would he drag himself out of bed to hold and comfort her when she woke up screaming in the middle of the night and cried and thrashed about and hurt herself and hurt him?

Would he love her?

Would he be her… best friend?

No. He wouldn't. Naruto knew. He just knew.

"Naruto…?" Sakura asked, confusion in her voice. Why wasn't he speaking? But he was still there, she could feel his arms around her…

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry. Sorry. Sorry." And he said it over and over again, so many times that she lost count.

"Hold on – what for? I'm supposed to be apologising. That's why I got the ramen. Are you mad at me? Naruto?"

"No, I'd never be mad at you, Sakura. Are you mad at me? Kami, you must be. I didn't even think… I was being so selfish. I thought you would be happy…"

Something wet dripped onto the back of her neck. Her sightless eyes widened. "Naruto, are you…? What's wrong? You're angry at me, aren't you? You are…" And the tears were coming out before she could hold them back. She couldn't help it. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I'll say it a thousand times if you want me to…"

They trickled onto his arm, wet, heavy, familiar. He was horrified, but he couldn't stop his own from falling. "Don't cry, Sakura. Please don't cry. I'm not angry at you. Really, I'm not!"

"Idiot," she sobbed. "You idiot. You're making me cry. I hate you, I hate you!" She twisted around, broke out of his grasp, and pounded at his chest. Sometimes she missed and would crack her knuckles on the wall behind him. He winced for her.

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her down, folding her into his arms. She didn't resist and cried into his shirt. He swallowed thickly. "Please don't hurt yourself like that, Sakura. I… I'm not worth it." Why hadn't he thought about it before? Was this was Shizune had meant? It was so clear now.

He was hurting her.

"Sakura, Sakura. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"You… you were th-thinking about going away, weren't you?" Her voice hitched and cracked and broke. "You were going to go away!"

"No, no, no, no." He stroked her hair. Stroking her hair always calmed her down. "I wasn't, I wasn't. I promise."

"Don't go away, Naruto," she whispered. "Please… not you too. You're all I… Naruto. Naruto, please. Please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." She buried her face in his chest. "I didn't mean it…"

"I know, I know. I won't go anywhere. I'll stay here with you. Always. I promise."

She lifted her head. He rubbed his thumb against her cheek, clearing away the tear tracks. "How do I know you won't break it?"

"Because I'm Naruto," he replied. "I make it all okay, don't I? That's what best friends are for, right?"


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

OoO

"Sometimes being pushed to the wall gives you the momentum necessary to get over it" – _Peter de Jager_

OoO

Kakashi Hatake knew he was a bad teacher. His students were, frankly, a mess. One was a demon vessel, another was a renegade avenger. Even Sakura, whom he thought he could always count on to be normal, was now blind and withdrawn.

Yes, what had been Team Seven was in shambles. Sometimes, Kakashi found himself wondering why he had passed them. If he had not allowed Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno to succeed as genins, would the outcome been different? If they had been forced to endure an extra year at the Academy and been assigned a different Jonin sensei, would Naruto still be a persistent (determined), idiotic (strong) and hyperactive (dedicated) ninja? Would Sasuke still have left to pursue the shadows of revenge that he so sought? Would he still strike down Sakura and reduce her sightless?

Would there still be the Rookie Nine?

It was too late to ponder such impossible possibilities, and Kakashi knew that. Yet… it was just difficult. Standing in front of the K.I.A Cenotaph, staring at Obito's name, he could sometimes hear Asuma's Team Ten training in the next training ground and Kurenai's Team Eight in another adjacent one. The grunts of effort, sweat, calls of instruction – the laughter. Without his own students to train, he would stand there a little longer, even after the names of his precious people had faded from his attention, to focus on the sounds of teamwork, of friendship. And it hurt.

If only Tsunade knew this, she would realise why he had been so eager to accept that S-rank mission.

As far as he was concerned, Kakashi had failed his main initiative as a Jonin sensei. His students' paths were wronged, their lives twisted in such ways that were almost irreversible. He had failed.

But he knew his role wasn't over. As long as one of his students needed him, he would have to be there for them, to provide the support and training they required. When he had taken off on the last mission, it hadn't occurred to him that any of his previous charges would need him. History repeated itself; they each had each of the Sannin as their teachers. They didn't need him.

No, they didn't. But Sakura _wanted_ him. That mattered.

And there she was, sitting on a rock, Naruto standing by her side. Sakura had been talking with her teammate, and she looked up when he stepped into the clearing, blinking uncertainly until the clone jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at the masked Jonin. "You're LATE!" it screeched.

Kakashi sighed and wearily waved his arm. It just didn't sound the same without Sakura's voice chorusing Naruto's usual response. The picture wasn't complete without Sasuke standing somewhere by the trees, watching his companions with scorn, a smirk and a small smile that no one but their sensei could see.

"You can forgive me, can't you, Sakura? It was only an hour or so after all." By Kakashi Hatake standards, that wasn't very long. He had purposefully pushed forward the meeting. He wanted to see Sakura and how she was doing.

Naruto looked suspiciously at him. "Are you even the real Kakashi?"

And the Jonin realised that, possibly for the first time, he hadn't given one of his standard excuses. He smiled. "That's a big claim you're making… especially coming from a clone."

"He's supposed to stay with me until you get here," Sakura said, drawing her sensei's attention to her. Behind the mask, Kakashi frowned. Had she gotten… smaller, somehow? "I made Naruto promise he wasn't going to come to this training session." Turning her head, she added, to the clone, "You can go now."

'Naruto' didn't look happy about it. "But Sakuraaaaa," he whined. "I wanna stay!"

"No. You'll distract me."

The clone grumbled. "Mm, fine." It sighed, and then poked itself in the eye. "Ow! Too ha-" And it was gone in a puff of smoke.

"I thought you would have liked Naruto's company," Kakashi said lightly.

Sakura reached up to tighten her forehead protector, turning her head to the side. "Shishou told me he was upset when he saw how I trained," she answered, and said nothing else as if it explained everything. In a way, it did. "How was your mission, Kakashi-sensei?"

He knew a hint when he saw one. She was leading him away from mention of Naruto. He obliged. "A success."

"Tsunade-sensei told me that you were back two days ago."

"Ah, I was busy." In the hospital, trapped under Shizune's watchful eye. "But now I'm here. I'll train you." And he would not, as Naruto put it, 'stuff this up'. It was perhaps his one rare chance to redeem himself as a teacher. His students deserved better. He would give them 'better'.

Setting one hand on Sakura's shoulder so she would know where he was, Kakashi said, "Lady Tsunade tells me that she ahs been instructing you on refining your medical jutsu and recognising chakra signatures, is that right?"

Sakura nodded. "What are you going to teach me, Kakashi-sensei?" She tried to make the comment casual, like something she asked everyday, just so he wouldn't hear the desperation in her voice, the hope that whatever he would introduce to her would make her fell less worthless.

He had already spent some time thinking about it. It was no longer a matter of skill and strength, but rather Sakura's personal acceptance. From his own experience and his observations, his student was in a small case of denial. She was not willing to acknowledge her abilities and what she was capable of accomplishing with them. Any techniques he taught her would be useless if she did not trust herself to use it.

"Sakura, I want to ask you something."

"Like what?"

Kakashi tried not to look into her glazed eyes, the vulnerability. "Are you happy?"

As expected, Sakura was taken aback. She even blinked and cocked her head. "What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked slowly, carefully, because she knew that anything Sharingan Kakashi asked was likely to have multiple layers of meaning behind it. _If I said no, would he think Naruto isn't taking care of me?_

"When did you become so untrusting, Sakura?" Kakashi asked, patting her head.

Yes, when had she? "S-sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I-"

"It's alright. Between student and teacher we can overlook that, can't we?" Perhaps it was just too much thinking and fantasising on his behalf, but Kakashi no longer saw the Sakura who had undergone intensive training under a Sannin, not even the girl who had managed to outwit him alongside Naruto to snatch one of his bells. He saw the younger Sakura Haruno, the uncertain child who followed whatever other people did, who treaded carefully as if she expected makibishi to erupt from the ground at irregular intervals.

He saw a stranger.

"Sakura, I know that you are dealing with more difficulties losing your eyesight than I will understand," Kakashi said quietly. His student lowered her head. "Seeing is very important to a person even if they aren't a ninja. It is like paralysis. Losing your eyesight makes you feel useless."

Even without aid of the Sharingan, the Jonin could see the muscles in Sakura's arm clench and tense, tightening into coils of tension and unease. Her fists were tight, and if Kakashi didn't know better, he would be under the impression that he had somehow offended her and would be expecting a bone-crushing blow to the stomach. "Kakashi-sensei, I just… I want to help, to be able to do something. I want to bring him back. I… but now I… I can't do _anything_!"

"I know, I know," he soothed. It was good to let out the emotions; keeping them in would result in another Sasuke. Kakashi could not afford that. "I know it's ha-"

"You don't _know_, sensei!" Sakura cried, startling him. Since when did Sakura interrupt anyone? Kakashi made to rub her back, but she flinched away, withdrawing. "You were strong from birth, Kakashi-sensei. You don't need to know how it feels to be weak, to be the one left behind…" She wrapped her arms around herself, retreating. "You don't have to work hard to become stronger and then have all that effort taken away from you. You don't understand!" And she dropped to the ground in a defeated heap, as if she had become overwhelmed merely by Kakashi's presence. She clawed at the grass, shut her eyes tightly.

The Copy Ninja's eye widened. How did Naruto deal with this?

What Kakashi didn't know was that Naruto _didn't_ have to deal with Sakura's mood swings on such a destructive scale. She usually tried to conceal it so as to not add another burden to his worries. Sometimes she just forgot about the agonising weaknesses when he was there, because Naruto could be counted on for one thing, and that was distraction. Regardless, as she was wallowing in regret and darker emotions, Sakura still expected to feel Naruto's arms around her, to hear his clumsy words of comfort that always seemed to make everything better. He was always warm, and when his arms were around her, Sakura was allowed to feel like a child, to feel young and vulnerable. In Naruto's arms, it felt _right_.

In Kakashi's, it didn't.

The jounin's arms were thinner, his fingers longer, bonier, harder. In any case, he had not enveloped her in an assuring embrace, instead settling his hands on her shoulders, lowering himself down to her level. Sakura didn't feel Naruto's warmth in him, and that was what woke her.

This wasn't Naruto. It was so easy to think that it was, but it wasn't. It was just Kakashi-sensei. Suddenly, Sakura was mortified. "Sensei, I'm sorry, I… lost it for a moment."

"And are you alright now?"

Was she…? "Yes. I'm okay. Sorry, it's just that… it's hard."

"That's why I'm here, isn't it?" Kakashi said gently. He helped his student stand, watching her carefully. "I can help you, Sakura." He hoped so. "But you need to trust me, otherwise anything I teach you will not operate to their full potential. Do you understand?"

Did she have a choice not to? "Yes, Kakashi-sensei."

"Are you ready?"

"Of course." She'd had so long to prepare.

"What if I told you that what I am going to teach you is extremely difficult to master and will probably fail? Do you think you are still ready?"

Fail? She couldn't afford to fail. She just… just couldn't. "Yes."

It was the certainty he needed, and while Sakura's response was still rather hollow, Kakashi let it slide. Tsunade had expressed concern during their meeting; apparently, Sakura was relying too much on a certain hyperactive blond. It was Kakashi's duty to help Sakura stand on her own, develop her own eyes and senses. She would need them if she were to continue being a kunoichi. Naruto could not be there to help her at every turn.

"You were always very good with your chakra control, Sakura. How well do you think you can mould chakra now?"

"It depends on what I need to use it for." And she was focused now. _Leave it all behind, Sakura. You didn't just blow up on your sensei. You need to concentrate._

"General use. Climbing trees, anchoring yourself."

"That depends on if… someone is there to guide me to the tree."

As always, it was the confidence issue. "You need to believe in yourself, Sakura. It will be hard to learn if you don't."

Believe? That was what Naruto always said. "Hai," Sakura murmured softly.

He didn't think to doubt her claim any further than he already had. In the end, whether she was ready for it or not, she would have to cope, adapt. "I am going to teach you elemental manipulation, Sakura."

At this, her head snapped up. "Elemental… manipulation? That's…"

"Difficult?" Kakashi suggested.

Sakura nodded.

He smiled, more for himself than for his student's benefit – or lack thereof, as she could not see it. "I thought you appreciated challenges, Sakura." He mouth drew into a grim line, and he moved on. "Ninja can only align themselves with two or three elements. They usually focus on those elements, but for you, Sakura, I don't think you have a choice as to which elements you specialise in. Only two are capable of becoming your eyes."

Nothing could become her eyes, she knew that. Sakura was nothing if not a realist. Elemental manipulation was not drawing on chakra and creating jutsu for the offensive and defensive. Elemental manipulation was utilizing her chakra, her spiritual energy, to merge with the element, to synchronise her movements with it. To 'align' herself with it. Sakura could understand why Kakashi was using this method; if she could not see Nature, it would have to reveal itself to her.

"Earth," she said. "Earth can help me find my bearings on ground."

Kakashi's smile widened by a minimal fraction. This was the studious Sakura he knew. "And what if there are things you cannot sense on the ground?"

"Wind." Sakura frowned, hesitated. "I know I'm not a Wind type." Not a lot of people in Konoha possessed the Wind element very strongly. They leaned more toward Fire. Sakura knew she was neither Wind nor Fire. She had not in truth tried to find out her element, but she just knew. Wind and Fire were offensive. She didn't have it in her.

"I know." He was starting to get cheerful; it was nostalgic to be teaching again. "But you will have to deal, Sakura. You will benefit most from Wind. It can draw scents to you, gauge height, distance, identify objects that you can't with Earth." Kakashi regarded Sakura's indecision. "However, if you want to try your luck with Water, you can."

Sakura calculated. Kakashi was right; Wind was the most useful. Wind was everywhere. As long as she could discern where the air parted, she would be able to define and object or person. Water, on the other hand, could serve the same purposes, since there were water particles present in oxygen. But in places like Suna, she would have a bit of difficulty. Ninja had to adapt to survive. "It's alright. I'll try Wind."

"Mm, I thought so." The stranger was slowly easing away as Sakura focused on her task. "Let's start with Earth first. The basics are easier to grasp."

"Hai."

OoO

Naruto sighed. He had been sighing all day. He would very much rather be with Sakura and watching her train than lying around in the park until it was time to pick her up. Tsunade had tried to get him to do some missions while he waited, but his mind just wasn't on it.

After witnessing Sakura's insecurities two days ago, Naruto's mind wasn't on anything at all.

It was… frightening to see how _scared_ Sakura had been. He couldn't explain it, but it chilled Naruto to the bone. He wondered if Kakashi-sensei would know to be gentle with her. What would he teach her? Would he…

Naruto sat up, frowning. Would he beat Sakura until her ribs cracked and blood instead of words came out of her mouth, and then heal her so he could do it again? He hated it when Tsunade did that. He could see that Sakura was getting better at moving away from the blows – but still!

_I swear, if Kakashi does something like that… sensei or not I'll-_

"Naruto?"

"Huh?" He looked up. "Ino?"

She was with her teammates, blinking down at him. "What are you doing here? Where's Sakura?"

"Training with Kakashi-sensei." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "She wouldn't let me go with her."

Choji tilted his head in thought. "Really? Then it wasn't Kakashi-sensei I saw at the office then."

"What? You saw Kakashi-sensei with Granny Tsunade?"

"Only Choji saw him," Ino said. "We were talking with Shizune."

Naruto jumped to his feet. "Bastard! He left Sakura alone!" And to think that he had cornered Kakashi earlier that morning and painstakingly _demanded_ him to take care of her – he just upped and left a blind, helpless girl to her own devices. "Unbelievable! I gotta go find Sakura…" Stupid Kakashi. What if she got hurt? Alone in a training ground… what if she was harassed again?

Shikamaru sighed. "We'll go with you."

Ino and Choji blinked at him. "We will?"

"It's troublesome how you zone out all the time, Ino. Perhaps it would help if you saw who you wanted to see."

"I do not zone out!" But Ino's eyes were softening. It irked her that Shikamaru always managed to hit the nail on the head and pin it down where it hurt. Yes, she had been thinking about Sakura a little more than usual lately – after a few snippets of conversation with the other no-longer Rookies and listening to their recounts of meeting up with the pink-haired girl, Ino had begun worrying, since some of the tales were less than pleasing. Hinata told of Sakura wandering the streets alone, Lee of her 'Flames of Youth diminishing', and Kiba of her scent relating more to tears than the 'usual girly smell'.

Ino regarded Naruto. There had been moments when she would doubt Naruto's ability to care for his handicapped teammate. He could be so irresponsible and silly sometimes. But, somehow, he had managed to keep up with his own life while tended to Sakura's needs. And Sakura seemed to be _happy_ living with him, eating ramen day and night, putting up with his inevitable snoring.

Ino did not understand. But as she followed him to the training grounds, she had to admit that Naruto looked concerned enough. _He really is afraid that something happened to her,_ she realised.

And when they saw her, picking up a small metal… thing off the ground, then throwing it again and frowning in concentration before she managed to discern where it was, Ino actually stopped and thought: _Oh my God, she can see again._ But it was impossible, and Naruto seemed to know this.

"Sakura? What are you doing?"

Sakura faltered. His footsteps disturbed the shockwaves and shattered her focus. But she really couldn't care at the moment. Because Naruto was here. She let him startle her – as much as Naruto was willing to frighten his precious Sakura, she thought wryly – and wrap his arms around her and silently, routinely, check her for the slightest sign of injury. Because he was Naruto; Naruto who smelled like ramen and soap, Naruto whose arms were warm and assuring, Naruto who somehow always made the bad seem good.

Because he was her Naruto, and she would never tell him how much she had missed him.

"Naruto." She slapped half-heartedly at his hands. "Cut it out; someone else is here, right?"

If he didn't know better, his jaw would have dropped and hit the top of her head. "Yeah, Shikamaru and his team… but how do you know that?"

The knowledge made her feel a little… stronger. "Training," she answered simply. "That's right; Naruto, could you find that metal die I dropped somewhere?"

"Huh?" Naruto released her and looked around. "Metal… die?"

"This one?" Shikamaru was holding up a small object; the metallic surface glinted off the sun. "What is this for, Sakura?"

"Kakashi-sensei was teaching me how to sense movement through the earth. I spread my chakra under the ground here, and then throw the die so I can find it again. It's supposed to help my coordination and sensitivity."

Naruto took the die and pressed it into Sakura's hand, grumbling, "I still don't like how he just left you out here alone."

"It's alright. He would only be sitting around while I practiced anyway."

"Still…"

Choji noticed Ino's stare. It didn't take much thinking to figure out that she was concerned about Sakura. Choji did not understand why she was so hesitant – he didn't understand Ino at all when it came to Sakura. Sometimes, she would suddenly dig up initiative to seek her company, others she would retreat and watch and wait from the sidelines.

It seemed that Ino wasn't going to approach Sakura anytime soon, so Choji helped her. He pushed her forward by the shoulders. "Sakura, are you working with the Earth element?" he asked, still dragging Ino.

"Choji!" she hissed, trying to plant herself on the ground. "What are you doing?"

Sakura frowned but did not seem to have heard Ino's comment. "Yes. I'm doing elemental manipulation."

"Ah, that's good. My element's Earth. Maybe I can help."

Sakura smiled. "Okay."

Naruto grinned as Choji held Ino in place, and nudged her. "Sakura doesn't bite, Ino," he whispered in her ear, earning him a whack alongside the face.

Ino scowled. "Yeah, Sakura," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Maybe Choji can help."

Grinning, Choji led the two girls a short distance away to investigate the uses of Sakura's metal die.

Naruto's gaze softened. Against Choji's big bulk and Ino's presence, Sakura seemed like a small child playing with older companions. She was a little reserved at first, and he almost went over to assure her, but Choji's friendliness eventually drew her out again. Perhaps he had been wrong to protect her so well; she was slowly distancing herself from society.

"You look like a father, Naruto." Shikamaru was standing behind him, leaning against a nearby tree.

"Sakura looks like a kid."

"You look like a father," Shikamaru repeated.

Naruto laughed. "Maybe I do."

OoO

"Earth, huh?" Naruto asked later that evening, after they had eaten dinner. "Sounds pretty… rocky."

Sakura smiled and held out the next plate for him to dry. He let her wash the dishes these days – more out of her insistence than his. It helped her with hand coordination, she had argued, and he had given in. "I can't do much with it yet. I know if there are people near me and can feel where they are walking towards, but I can't separate the footsteps to figure out how many people there are."

"You'll get better, Sakura," he assured.

"I suppose."

"Is it easier with your sandals off?"

"I don't know. I haven't tried."

Suddenly, Naruto grinned. He gently eased the bowl and sponge out of Sakura's hands, dropping them in the sink. "Come out to the living room, Sakura. I've got an idea that can help with your training." And, grabbing her hand, he took her into the larger room.

Once there, he stopped in the middle and arranged their hands to different parts of the other's body. "Okay… left, left, right, down, spin…" He twirled her and her reflexes told her to pivot on her toes, and she did. She came out wrapped in his arms.

"Naruto, where did you learn how to dance?"

"With Pervy Sage, of course. He made me learn all these weird things before he would teach me any cool jutsus."

For a while, she just let him lead her around in circles. "And this is supposed to help me how?"

"Haven't you noticed, Sakura?" he asked. They had moved into a slow, swaying rhythm now. Naruto was surprisingly fluid in his movements, though Sakura still recognised a clumsy attempt there and then.

"Noticed what?"

"I haven't been calling out the directions anymore and you haven't even tripped."

True. Sakura realised that she had instinctively coordination her movement with Naruto's, spreading a thin layer of chakra under their feet. She reacted a couple of seconds after Naruto, but he guided her slowly, carefully. It was almost as if she were standing on his feet.

She rested her head against his chest and the fabric of his pyjamas. "Are you sure this isn't just some excuse to get your hands on me?" she teased lightly.

Naruto paused, and Sakura lifted her head briefly. "I wanted to hold you for a bit," he admitted. "I haven't been done that for a few days." Not since that time, when he had been on the verge of using the Shadow Clone Jutsu just so he could envelop her from every corner and angle to protect her from whatever was causing her pain. Sakura seemed to have been on a more stable mood since then.

She wouldn't tell him how safe his embraces felt. "Do you want me to wake up screaming in the middle of night, wetting my pants just so you could hold me?" she asked dryly.

"No no!" he said hastily. Hesitantly, he rested his chin on the top of her head, closed his eyes. She let him. "It's just… I'm glad you're feeling a bit better now, Sakura."

She wouldn't tell him about the episode with Kakashi then, either. "Me too."

"Mm." They continued twirling around. The concept of dance had lost its significance by now, but neither of them had the thought to break away. "We're missing some music," Naruto mused after a while.

"You should sing," she agreed.

"Yeah. I should, eh? What should I sing?"

"Naruto, I was joking."

"Oh."

"Idiot."

He stopped there, automatically wrapping his arms around her when she stumbled at the lack of momentum.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" His stillness frightened her. He was so still…

She didn't see his smile. "You haven't called me that for a long time."

"What?"

"Idiot. You haven't called me that for ages."

"I think I said it a few times at the teahouse that other day."

"No, I mean… it's been a while since you called me that like you meant it."

"Why do you keep track of something like that?"

_I keep track of everything about you, Sakura. _"Because I'm an idiot?"

"Naruto…" Her voice was soft. She reached for his arms, settled them on her shoulders. Naruto blinked. "Hold me," she said, almost as if she was _instructing_ him to. He pulled her into an embrace, pressing her against his body. Sakura closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest again, closing her sightless eyes.

"Sakura?" he breathed uncertainly. But he didn't move away, not when he was holding her. Like in the afternoon, it was one of the rare times when he got to hold her and she wasn't in tears.

"You aren't an idiot, Naruto."

"I'm not?"

His arms were warm and heavy… safe. Naruto was safe, safe to hold, to go to. To trust. "You're not. I don't know what I would do if you suddenly left." And the thought reminded her of that day, that time he had _cried_ and promised her that he would never leave… had he actually considered leaving her? For what?

"I won't leave." There it was again.

Sakura really hoped he meant it. Today, even with Kakashi's presence, something had been missing. Naruto. She had almost regretted sending his clone away. She didn't want him to leave. It made her feel lost to have him separated from her. Even when she was training with Tsunade, surrounded by a pair of women she considered her surrogate mother and sister, she didn't feel as safe as she did with the loud knucklehead.

Naruto couldn't be there all the time, she kept telling herself. Naruto couldn't stay around to take care of her forever. She knew that. She didn't like that realisation. Naruto would still have to leave her one day. What would she do then? She didn't know.

"What will I do?" she whispered.

"Hmm?" She heard it in his chest before it left his lips. "Do what?"

She shook her head, buried her face in his shirt, inhaled his scent. "Nothing," she murmured. "Just keep holding me."

And he did. In that moment, Sakura could forget. She could forget a lot of things. She could forget that she was blind. Forget how much she missed her parents. Forget that she was tired and still needed to shower. Forget Sasuke.

It was only Naruto. Just Naruto.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

oOo**  
**

"Love is blind. That is why he always proceeds by the sense of touch." – _French Proverb_

oOo_  
_

"Focus, Sakura," Tsunade said sternly, gripping her student's shoulder.

Grimacing, Sakura halted her chakra flow and rubbed at her sightless eyes. "Sorry, shishou. I'm just a little… I'm sorry."

"Tired?" Shizune asked softly. She could see the dark rings under the pink-haired girl's eyes. "Haven't you been sleeping well?" She glanced at the Hokage; Tsunade's eyes were narrowed in suspicion. The blonde woman was frighteningly protective of her subordinates at times.

"Has Naruto been keeping you up?" she demanded.

Sakura lifted her hands away from the table and leaned back into the couch, sagging wearily. "Naruto isn't back yet, shishou."

"Oh. That's right." Shizune cast a disapproving look in her mentor's direction. It wasn't like Tsunade needed reminding; she remembered how Sakura had reacted the last time Naruto had failed to return from a mission, and it made her face darken to recall the memory. But, hopefully, this time would be different. Naruto had been dispatched on a C-rank and had only left the previous morning; he wasn't due back for another three or so days. Sakura had no reason to panic. _Yet_, Tsunade found herself adding.

The Hokage had no method of knowing that her young apprentice was rather occupied with other thoughts to be concerned with that.

Sakura had, true to Shizune's presumption, not had enough hours of sleep than was healthy. When Naruto had left her with a warm hug and a grin she could _hear_, she had resolved not to make complications out of his temporary leave. It was the first time he was leaving the village since the time he had… gone missing. Sakura told herself she wasn't – was _not _ – going to worry or fret over his absence.

But life was a long and rutted road. She had jolted awake in the early hours of the morning, broken out in cold sweat. It had taken her several minutes of calling his name for her to remember that Naruto was not here and would not come to her. She felt a little… empty after that. He was usually there to coax her back to sleep, but now he wasn't. Falling asleep again wasn't easy – Sakura failed miserably. She kept feeling Naruto's phantom presence, his ghost arms cradling her, his fingers playfully twining a strand of her hair. He was _there_… but when she leaned back into his hollow chest… he wasn't.

Not that she would tell anyone that she actually missed the knucklehead. "I'm just tired from yesterday," Sakura insisted, turning her head to where she instinctively knew her companions were standing. "Kakashi-sensei worked me harder than usual." Which was true. Her training with both her senseis had increased in intensity, as if they had finally realised that she was no longer a fragile shell and were making up for the lost time.

"Hmm." Tsunade was not convinced. "Maybe you shouldn't be left alone in Naruto's apartment," she mused. If she had been expecting an objective outburst, she was disappointed.

"Actually, shishou," Sakura said slowly, raising her head. "That isn't such a bad idea."

Tsunade stared. "You're alright with that? Usually, you…" This time, Shizune nudged her, warning glinting dangerously in her eyes.

"I'm alright with it," Sakura said quietly. "Really, I am." Yes, it was more likely for her to put up a fight than not. She didn't mind being alone; with Kakashi's training, she was confident that she would not trip on any furniture. Rather, it was being alone that bothered her. Being alone… without Naruto.

_This is stupid_, she told herself, opening her mouth to take back her consent to companionship. Then she remembered Naruto's phantom touch, and she shuddered. It wasn't real. He was just a figment of her imagination, something borne from desperate desires. _Desires_… Sakura grimaced. When had it changed? Naruto had gone on extended missions before. He had gone to Suna once or twice while Tsunade had been training her. She hadn't missed him as much back then. Why? When had she gotten so used to his presence that he seemed to be an integrated part of her own body. Having him gone was like losing an arm… or her heart…

"Can I stay with you, Shizune?" Sakura blurted.

The dark-haired woman blinked in surprise. "That's fine. But Sakura…" She knelt down in front of the younger girl and stroked her hair. "Sakura, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes… yes, I'm fine."

Sakura hunched over even more so neither of her companions could see that she was clutching her chest, groping around for what she knew was there but felt was missing.

* * *

"Sakura, are you _sure_ you're alright?"

"Mm… yes."

"Is the food bad?"

"No. It's fine. I love teriyaki."

"Then why aren't you eating?"

Ah yes, why? Sakura knew the excuse of her handicap leading her chopsticks to misguided locations that were not her bowl would not fool Shizune – not when she had been picking at her rice for the past five minutes. Eventually, she settled for, "It just feels weird to be having something other than ramen."

Bad. Badbadbadbadbad_bad_. She really should not have said that. Sakura flinched and swallowed slowly, carefully. Ramen reminded her of Naruto. Even when she was in Shizune's house, eating takeout that was not from Ichiraku's, he was still there. He was _everywhere._

Shizune did not know if she should be sympathetic or worried; the former since Sakura had to deal with daily intake of a certain blond knucklehead's favourite food, the latter because the girl was acting rather weird lately and it just wasn't _normal_. She gingerly laid down her own chopsticks and gazed concernedly at her young companion. "Are you tired? Maybe you should rest. Your room is ready."

Room. Four walls, one closed door. Empty space. A lot of it. Phantom Naruto. "I'm fine… I'll just, um… have a sit on the couch."

"Alright then…"

Sakura gave a small smile and got up from the table. She knew Shizune's apartment almost as well as she knew her parents' house and Naru… she just knew it well. She had been here so many times before, sought out a sister's comforting embrace frequently enough to have unofficially become the permanent tenant of the guest room. Shizune could always be counted on, be it for a good laugh, a few tears, or even just a hug to start her morning.

But even though her arms were warm, they just weren't the same as Naruto's…

Her toe stubbed painfully against the leg of the coffee table. Sakura winced and caught herself before she could fall, waving her hand to indicate that she was fine because she knew that Shizune would be getting up in worry; she could feel the vibrations in the floorboards. The couch was there, just where she remembered it. Sakura didn't just sit on it, she sprawled on it. She lay on her side, eyes closed, heaving out slow breaths.

Shizune was clattering around in the kitchen, washing the dishes. Then she was on the dining table again, the sound of parchment rustling as a pen scratched on its surface. Sakura listened hazily to the sounds of movement, of the evidence that she was not alone. Even when the woman was in the shower, Sakura focused on the _pitter-patter_ of the water against the tiles. It reminded her of rain… and something else.

"_Eh, Sakura?"_

"_What?"_

"_You're taking a shower, right?"_

"_Yeah. What is it?"_

"_Ah…"_

"_I can't hear you."_

"_Erm, I forgot to give you a towel when I handed you your clothes."_

"_So?"_

"_Do you… want it?"_

"_Of course I want it. I need it."_

"_Oh… okay. So do I…?"_

"_So do you what?"_

"… _in."_

"_What?"_

"_Come in."_

"_What?"_

"_Come in."_

"_No; _what?_"_

"_Well, you need it so… I won't look, I swear."_

"… _you left it out on purpose, didn't you?"_

"_No! I just forgot, that's all."_

"_Yeah right."_

"_I'm telling the truth! Really… I didn't look, Sakura. I really didn't."_

"_Didn't?"_

"_Nope."_

"_So you already came in?"_

"_Uh… yeah."_

"_You pervert!"_

"_No!"_

Sakura smiled, chuckling. "Pervert," she whispered, just to remember how it sounded, how it felt like to be with him. She imagined the cushion was his hand, and she squeezed it tightly.

_I don't miss you, I don't – _don't – _miss you. You'll be back in a few days, I don't need to miss you. Don't, don't, don't, don't…_

_God I miss you, Naruto…_

* * *

Shikamaru Nara had witnessed many troublesome things during his fifteen years. He had spent minus nine months of that period trapped inside the most troublesome woman in the world's stomach, floating around in whatever troublesome organ it was called. His own team had an annoying and irritating blonde who very rarely shut up.

And now he was travelling with the other annoying and irritating blond who very rarely shut up. Except Naruto was being suspiciously quiet, and had been since they had left Konoha. He had walked ahead, head ducked in thought, almost stumbling into a bog – his companion had been forced to use one of his family jutsus to bind him to solid ground.

It wasn't until the night of the second day, when they were setting up camp in the woods for the night, that Shikamaru found the silence bothersome enough to act on it. "Oi, Naruto."

The blond looked up from staring into the flickering flames of the campfire. "Yeah?"

"What are you thinking about? It's not like you to be quiet like that." He would have added 'It's troublesome', too, if he hadn't noticed Naruto's eyes; they were deeper, older. Shikamaru's own eyes narrowed.

Naruto picked up a stick and dangled it over the ground, tracing faint lines in the dirt. He was silently thoughtful for a moment, and then spoke, "We're getting close to the Sound village, right?"

He'd thought that was the case. Sasuke's betrayal had impacted heavily on what remained of the Rookie Twelve. When Ino wasn't using tears or fists to solve a problem, Shikamaru was aware that something was serious. "It's a day's travel off the village we're going to."

"Ah, okay," Naruto murmured. He tossed the stick into the bushes and reclined on his back, arms behind his head as a pillow. The canopy of the forest trees blotted out most of the night sky, and he closed his eyes. They weren't far from the Sound village. Maybe Sasuke was there. Maybe he wasn't. Maybe Naruto didn't care at all, because, really, the Uchiha hadn't always been the first thing on his mind lately.

"Naruto." An eye cracked open and he turned his head to regard Shikamaru. His fellow Chunin's face glowed in the light of the fire. "There's a reason Tsunade chose me to be your partner on this mission."

Naruto's eye closed again and he nodded minimally. "You're smart enough to know what to do if I try to bring Sasuke back."

He didn't see Shikamaru blink blankly in surprise. He grunted. "So you do have some brains after all." There was a faint snort from his companion. A long pause later, the Nara boy added, "Don't you care about bringing him home anymore? It used to be all you ever talked about."

Oh, he cared alright. He cared a lot. Sasuke was his brother in more ways than deep bonds. Naruto cared too much about him… just not enough to leave Sakura for him. She would probably be a little happier if Sasuke was back. She missed him, Naruto knew. Shizune's reasoning and Sakura's insecurities had convinced him to stay put, and after he had calmed down, he realised that he didn't want Sasuke back in Konoha. He would find some way to hurt Sakura, be it just declining a possible date that she no longer asked for, or physically harming her being.

Naruto knew he would kill the bastard if he hurt his Sakura. He had made her cry too many times, reduced her sightless and broken. He had left Naruto to pick up the pieces, to glue and hold her back together. It was unforgivable.

And also… maybe Naruto didn't want Sasuke back for more… _personal _reasons.

Sasuke had always been his rival, but now he was competition for something much more precious than recognition. Naruto didn't think he would be able to heal if he saw Sakura screaming the bastard's name in the middle of the night, sobbing in _his_ arms and seeking comfort in _his_ presence.

"I think your water is done." Shikamaru's voice dragged his consciousness back to the present. Naruto's eyes blinked open and he sat up, turning to the small container he had hung over the campfire. Steam was rising from it.

"Right. Thanks." Carefully holding the canister by its handle, he tipped the boiled water into the cup of instant ramen he had prepared earlier. The fragrance of miso broth wafted into the air, teasing Naruto's tastebuds. "Itadakimasu," he grinned, stirring the noodles with his chopsticks. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

He paused before he dug in, tilting his head up to the sky. "Sakura," he murmured, his eyes softening. Was she having dinner now, at the same time? Ramen? She liked beef more than miso, Naruto had discovered.

_Is she thinking about me?_

Shikamaru regarded the blond out of the corner of his eye. Naruto was distracted an awful lot lately, and now he wasn't even inhaling his ramen yet. Barely anything could distract Naruto Uzumaki from ramen. Well, except… "She's probably staring at the same moon."

"Huh?" Naruto turned back to him. "Moon?"

"That's what the old people say. When two lovers are separated, they stare at the same moon and think about each other."

"I think I heard that a few times before, yeah… wait, did you say 'lovers'?"

"Give him a clap."

Naruto frowned. 'Lovers' sounded old and formal… not like he had reason to be pondering any synonyms for the word. Sakura had made it clear that they were only good friends… but the borders between friends and a little more seemed to be blurring lately. She was letting him closer, letting him hold her even when she wasn't upset about something, holding his hand although she was now capable of manipulating the Earth element enough to warn her if she was going to crash into something.

Maybe they would…

"It's impossible, you know." Again, it was Shikamaru, his lazy drawl slicing through Naruto's enticing thoughts.

"What is?" the blond asked irritably, shovelling ramen into his mouth.

"For the two of you to stare at the same moon. Sakura is blind."

"So? We can always listen to the same melody of love," Naruto countered.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Very defensive of your inexistent romantic relationship, aren't you?"

"You're mean."

"You're an idiot." Shikamaru pulled the covers of his sleeping bag over him and turned over, his back to Naruto. The blond deduced that the other boy was done talking and shrugged, focusing on his meal, but then Shikamaru spoke again, his voice muffled. "Don't leave her, Naruto. She needs you. You're good for her." There was not a hint of mockery in his tone. It was spoken like a blatant truth.

Even Naruto knew that, in all honesty, Sakura _did_ need him.

He just didn't know that he needed her just as much.

* * *

It wasn't that he could not sleep, he told himself. Such excuses were needless. He merely had his mind focused on something else. It had been occurring quite often lately.

_How long has it been? _he mused. _Two weeks? Three?_

The last time he had seen her, she had been struggling pitifully against a drunken Chunin. She had been screaming his name, her voice so torn with anguish that it had been physically impossible for him to leave her.

After all, hadn't he returned to check on her? To… to see if she was alright? By 'alright', Sasuke convinced himself that he was relating to her health only. It seemed that he was being forced to assault his teammates with Chidori a lot more commonly than he found comfortable. He just wanted to see if she survived… yes, that was all it was.

What else could it be?

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed and snapped to the door. It was creaking open, allowing a widening sliver of light to flood onto the dark, dusty floor of his room. A foul aura seemed to precede Orochimaru as he entered, the same dark smile on his pale features. "I thought you might be interested in some late night training."

Sasuke turned away. "I'm not interested."

"Oh?" And now the Sannin sounded amused. "Is it not in your interests to grow stronger, Sasuke? You cannot get-"

"You didn't tell me."

"Hmm?"

"You didn't tell me the full effects of snake poison," he said in a toneless voice.

Orochimaru paused, and then chuckled. "Oh, I see what this is about," he smiled. A snake protruded from his sleeve, and Sasuke tensed, but the reptile only coiled itself around its summoner's neck, seemingly content. Pale fingers stroked its hide. "Some snakes can blind, yes. Like this one, for example."

Silence was all Sasuke would grace him with.

The Snake Sannin regarded the Uchiha. Such an interesting subject. "You wanted to give her a swift and painless death."

Sasuke turned sharply to glare coldly at him. "I'm not thinking about that," he snapped.

"Aren't you, Sasuke?" He hated how Orochimaru said his name, with a sinister hiss that would have gone well with a forked tongue. "Emotions are so fascinating, aren't they?"

Yes, they were. That was why Sasuke liked to think that he did not have them. No anger, no happiness, no… just empty coldness. It was all he needed. Anything additional would become a hindrance. He had decided to leave Sasuke Uchiha behind that day he had left Konoha, that day he had refused the help of both of his teammates. He didn't need identity to be strong.

"You seem to be rather downcast lately, Sasuke," Orochimaru observed. "Are you lonely?"

"I don't need anyone. Not even you."

"Oh, such harsh comments, Sasuke. Perhaps you would be satisfied if your teammates were here with you. Maybe I should send someone down to Konoha and bring the girl to you. She seems to interest you…"

Sasuke's emotions flared. He had them after all. He could feel it. Anger.

The snake around Orochimaru's neck crumbled into ashes under the powerful current coursing through it, and then Sasuke's sword was pointed at the Sannin's face. His eyes were slits. "Don't," he warned coldly. "I'll kill you."

Orochimaru looked into the Uchiha's eyes. Then he laughed. He threw his head back, not at all mindful of the blade hovering dangerously close to his head, and laughed. "My, my, Sasuke," he chuckled. "I didn't think you were still capable of such… _concern._"

He was mocking him. Sasuke hated being mocked. The dobe had mocked him. Naruto had grown stronger, better, catching up to him. Sakura had mocked him. She had gotten stronger, too. And she had survived. That mocked him more than anything.

The fact that it shouldn't be able to affect him only increased his rage.

He didn't notice when Orochimaru had slipped out of the room, leaving the door ajar. Sasuke stared emotionlessly at the light that filtered into the darkness. Light. Hope. Naruto Uzumaki. Sakura Haruno…

He tossed his sword, thrusting it deep into the thick wood of the door, sending it slamming shut. No more light.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

OoO

"Love is not enough. It must be the foundation, the cornerstone- but not the complete structure. It is much too pliable, too yielding." _- Bette Davis_

OoO

"Waiting for your boyfriend?"

Sakura's brow furrowed. "He's not my boyfriend," she objected. She turned her head slightly. "And what about _you_, Ino? Waiting for Shikamaru?"

"Wh-What? _No!"_

"Then why are you here?"

"Why are _you_?"

"I… I'm waiting for Naruto." How long had it been? She couldn't really remember.

Ino glanced thoughtfully at her friend. Sakura had been quiet these past few days. She smiled when she was around their friends, but it was a distracted sort of smile. Just the previous day, they had gotten together with Tenten and Hinata to plan out the upcoming picnic, and Sakura's eyes looked particularly distant when Naruto's name was brought up.

It was always Naruto. For some reason, Ino found that she was glad that it was Naruto, and not Sai or any other boy they knew. Not Sasuke. Naruto was… Naruto was safe. He was bright, cheerful, strong. He was _Naruto._ Sakura needed someone like Naruto.

Too bad the girl didn't know she already _had_ Naruto.

"Ino?" Sakura's soft voice ended that thought.

"Hmm?"

"Is that them?"

Ino turned her head to the road beyond the gates, her heart lightening… and dropping when she didn't see anything. "Um, I don't think… no wait… someone's coming."

"It's Naruto, isn't it?"

It was. He was coming up the last hill, and from a distance his expression looked pensive. And behind him was Shikamaru, shaking his head. For some reason, despite her astounding progress with Earth manipulation, Ino had the feeling that Sakura had only detected Naruto. She had only been waiting for him.

"Take me to them, Ino?" Sakura murmured, even though the unsaid 'him' was quite apparent. She could feel his steps. The steady vibrations, the shifting of his weight was familiar. She was attuned to them. He was near. He was close. He was here.

And, as Ino grabbed her hand and lead her down the track, Sakura realised that she really, really wanted to see him.

OoO

Something was missing. Naruto knew it. Had for the past three and a half days. Something was just… missing…

"Hey, Naruto," Shikamaru called from the back.

The blond looked over his shoulder. "What? We're almost there, aren't we?"

"Not almost. We're practically at the gates." Shikamaru snapped Asuma's lighter shut with a decisive flick. His lips tugged up into a faint smirk. "Looks like we're expected."

"Huh?" Naruto turned his head back to the road, the gates.

When he had been younger, Naruto had always fantasised a scene of glory, of him returning from a great mission with the entire village waiting anxiously at the gates to greet their hero's return.

He never thought that a single girl's smile could mean much, much more. But now he knew, because as Sakura slowed and Ino ran ahead, Naruto was throwing off his backpack and breaking into a spirited sprint. She must have felt him coming; her smile grew wider and she raised her arms for an embrace. He gave her more. He picked her up by her slim waist and swung her around and held her close.

Her hands were on his shoulders, her sightless eyes seeming to gaze right into his. "Hi," she said quietly, as he carefully lowered her to her feet.

"Hi." They were both breathless, and neither of them knew why. "So, uh…" Naruto shuffled, suddenly feeling very awkward. He didn't know what to say. "Did you mi-" His voice was cut off as Sakura's hand found its way to his face, settling on his cheek. He leaned his face against it.

"Yes, Naruto," she whispered, smiling, "I missed you."

His hand, larger and warmer, clasped over hers. "A lot?"

"… A lot."

Missing? Naruto didn't feel that anything was missing.

OoO

When Naruto got out of his shower later that day, he found Sakura in the kitchen, washing their dinner dishes. For a while, he just stood behind her to admire her focus and the way her movements were controlled and accurate. She had more of that confidence that the old Sakura had possessed, the Sakura that could crush a forest in one blow.

It wasn't long before he was found out. "You've been standing there long enough. Want to give me a hand?"

Grinning, Naruto rolled up his sleeves and took the wet plate off her hands. "A hand? You know I'd give you an arm, Sakura. Both of them if you want." She elbowed him lightly. He picked up a cloth and started drying the dishware she handed to him. "You're getting better with your Earth thingy."

"Elemental manipulation."

"Yeah, that."

"Kakashi-sensei said he might get me started working on Wind to see if I'm compatible with it." Sakura felt around the sink for the last bowl. "I hope I am. Naruto, where did I put the sponge?"

"Here." He closed her hand around it. "You'll be okay with Wind, Sakura. It's not that hard, really."

"You're only saying that because it's your natural element," she pointed out.

"I'll help you with it," he assured. He stacked the dishware on the drying rack and, after wiping his hands, grabbed Sakura's. "Wanna sit on the couch for a bit?"

"Alright."

They both knew that it was catching up on lost time.

'Sitting' was not quite accurate. Naruto became the bedding, flopping down on his back, and Sakura lay against his side, layered on top of his left arm, which she fidgeted with. He was warm. She closed her eyes and nestled against his shoulder. This… this was what Shizune and Ino and everyone else hadn't been able to provide her with. Funny thing was, she still did not know what 'this' was.

"You don't have to worry about the Wind manipulation, Sakura," Naruto said softly. "It'll be okay."

"Hmm."

"I'll be there with you," he promised.

"I know," she sighed. She shook her head, her hair brushing against his chin. "Tell me about your mission."

"Mm? Oh, it was fine. Just a bunch of rogue ninja terrorizing a village up north. Me and Shikamaru put them in their place no problem." Naruto closed his eyes in content as Sakura's hand ran soothingly along his arm. "That feels good, you know that?"

"Don't get too used to it."

"Heh…" His arm wrapped around her shoulders and gently fingered a lock of her hair. It was silky and smelt like something that definitely could not be his cheap shampoo. "Ne, Sakura… I like your hair…"

She knew he was asleep before she even took notice of his deep, slumberous breathing. _He must be tired from his mission_. She carefully adjusted herself so that she was not compressing his diaphragm. However, to arrange herself in such a position that both of them were comfortable required her to overlap one of her legs with Naruto's and tuck her head under his chin. Her left arm was laid over his regularly rising chest. His breaths brushed her cheek.

Sakura was… strangely comfortable. She settled in. _I'll get out later…_

Then Naruto shuffled slightly and a grumble was all Sakura heard before the couch shifted. Another warm, heavy arm draped over her shoulders, embracing her, drawing her close to his chest. Their faces were practically touching. And, judging from the pressure, her leg was… sandwiched between both of his.

_Or not._

For a while, her body was stiffly held with unease. Their positioning was _awkward_.

But… it felt like his body had grooves that had been specifically indented for the curves of hers. Like two puzzle pieces, they _fit_. It felt right, and the thing was… Sakura didn't know why.

Before, when Naruto had held her, this similar sense of belonging had also enveloped her. Yet it was different, because back then she had _needed_ him. She needed him to help her stand and be there to steady her. And now, when she was finally learning to find her own way, he was still holding her, and she _still liked it._ She _wanted_ him to be near her, wanted him to be the one to hold and comfort her. She wanted to hear his voice in constant struggle against the bleak silence and the stifling voices of her fears.

She just… wanted him.

_God… that sounded… thank God Ino isn't here._

But that point struck home. With uncomfortable apprehension, Sakura realised that as… friends… their current positioning was a little… _intimate_. Assuring as it was, with Naruto was warm, so _alive_, right next to her, they were still just friends. Even though he had often sat with her and cradled her while she slept; even though she had found out that the day of the harvest festival, following that eventful disaster, it had been Naruto who had undressed and bathed her and _been there_…

Friends.

What did that word even _mean_? Sakura shut her eyes and swallowed, allowing her companion's deep breaths to clear her mind.

She and Ino were friends. Had been best friends, too, and they were currently working on rebuilding that foundation.

Shikamaru and Choji had a strong partnership.

Even Kakashi-sensei and Might Guy had a thick bond intertwined with various strands of mutual duty, grudging respect and persistent rivalry.

Naruto had been friends (much, much more than friends) with Sasuke.

Sakura did not suppose that she and Naruto had a friendship like either of those pairs. He was her teammate, her best friend. Was there a level of friendship higher than that? One that let them find such comfort in each other? One that made her want to smile because he was just _there_?

She shuddered and allowed Naruto's arms to instinctively tighten around her. _What am I thinking? Why am I thinking about this now? It's not like this hasn't happened before…_

But it was _because_ that they had been so close, so thickly bonded lately, that she found her doubts.

Sakura mentally scolded herself. She was just thinking too much. Tsunade was always telling her to stop fretting over needless matters.

Besides, if she and Naruto weren't friends, what _were_ they?

She wanted to _see_. She wanted to open her eyes and see his face and remember it. She wanted to see _something._ Because, at the moment, everything was dark and cold and empty…

And somewhere in the darkness, Naruto was carrying light.

OoO

The next day, after running a few errands for the Hokage, Naruto came home to an empty apartment.

He had been in a relatively good mood all day, and he was cheerfully whistling as he sent a quick burst of chakra into the door and entered. As he was slipping off his sandals, he called out, "Ne, Sakura, I'm back! Ichiraku's has a new ramen flavour and Ayame gave me some…" His voice trailed off by the time he walked into Sakura's room to find that, likewise to the other parts of the small apartment, it was empty.

Naruto's arm, the one holding the plastic bag containing what would have been _their_ lunch but was now just _his_, lowered with something akin to dejection. Sighing, he gently closed the door and went back to the kitchen. He pulled out the two boxes and set one in front of him. Then he broke the chopsticks and, murmuring a half-hearted "Itadakimasu", began to eat.

He might have noticed a difference in flavour and began a thorough investigation, but today he was just not in the mood. Which, in sharp contrast to his previous exuberance, was sadly sardonic.

It wasn't unusual for Sakura to be absent. Lately, she had been navigating herself quite efficiently around the village. Sometimes she went down for walks and then simply asked someone to describe her surroundings to her so she could find her way back. Naruto was always a little anxious whenever she went out like that ("What if there isn't anyone for you to ask?"), but Sakura was adamant ("Then you'll come looking for me, won't you, Naruto?"), and in the end she always had her walk. And she always came back.

No, it wasn't the fact that Sakura was simply not here. It was more of her strange behaviour that morning. Naruto frowned as he remembered how quiet and unresponsive she'd been. It had taken him three tries to get her attention and even then she seemed to tune out of what he was saying before he was even finished. When asked (and boy had Naruto _asked_) she would give him that trouble expression, as if she was actually _staring _at him, discerning something from another.

But it was the smile that worried him. Her smiles just hadn't been the same. They were distracted with very little of the serenity that made it _Sakura's_ smile. It was like she was smiling to be polite, to fill in time, space, and words that just could not be said.

It bothered Naruto that she had been treating him like a stranger.

No, it _hurt_.

Ever the optimist, he had come to a more acceptable alternative when he had been sitting through the meeting with Tsunade. Sakura was simply having a bad day. That was all. Everything would be fine in a few hours. When he got back, she would be Sakura again.

And now…

Naruto finished his ramen and closed the lid. For a long time, he stared hollowly at Sakura's container. Then he got up and went off the shower.

The ramen was tasteless anyway.

OoO

Ino Yamanaka raised her head off the counter when she heard the chime. The well-practiced greeting was already at the tip of her tongue before she saw that the newcomer was not a customer. "Hello, welcome to – oh, it's you." She narrowed her eyes as the kunoichi felt her way to the counter and sat on one of the seats. "What's wrong with you, Forehead? You look dead."

For once, Sakura ignored the otherwise unwelcome nickname. "Can I stay here for a bit?" Ino's eyebrow was inching up.

"Okay, fine," she answered warily. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "There's something off about you…" She shrugged. "So how did you find your way here?"

"I asked Kakashi-sensei to take me here."

"You had training with him?"

"Yes."

"I saw Naruto walk past half an hour ago. He was going to Ichiraku's. Looks like you'll be having ramen for lunch again." Ino chuckled, turning back to the counter. "You're going to get sooo fat, Fore…" She stopped; Sakura had just unsuccessfully tried to stifle an uncomfortable flinch. "What's wrong, Sakura?" Ino asked in a softer tone. No matter what people said, Ino Yamanaka was actually quite sensitive to other people's feelings. Her intuition was telling her that Sakura needed someone to talk to. "Talk to me," she ordered.

Sakura's heart was heavy. "Ino, tell me something… how have I been acting since I woke up?"

"Mm?" Ino lowered herself into her chair and leaned forward, casually resting her forehead against Sakura's. "Well, you're different."

"Different how?"

"You're blind." She said it lightly, gently.

Sakura nodded. "How about how I behave?"

Ino paused to think about it. "You want my real opinion?"

Hesitation. "Yes."

"Alright then." Ino reclined and picked up a pen off the counter, twirling it in her fingers. "You're more… vulnerable." Sakura winced. "Hey, you wanted the real thing."

"I know. Keep going."

"Okay… you don't argue with me as much. You're quieter. Sometimes, I can tell that you are really scared. You're scared of a lot of things now – and they're not rats or cockroaches. It's those intangible things. You're scared of being alone. And I just…" Ino faltered there. She bit her lip.

"And you what, Ino?"

_I just want things to go back to the way they were. I'd rewind to when we were still rivals, if it means I won't have to hug you and feel like I'm trying to hold together one of Kankuro's broken puppets._

She sighed and dropped the pen onto the table. "Sakura, I just don't know anymore. Why don't you ask Naruto? He's the one you've been spending the most time with."

Sakura was silent. _Naruto… Naruto._ "Is he really that… consistent in my life?"

Ino regarded her sightless companion. _Oh, I get it._ "This is about Naruto, isn't it?"

It took the pink-haired girl a long while to answer. "Half of it. Most of it is about me." She shook her head and lowered it. "You still haven't answered my question."

"What question?"

"About Naruto. Ever since I woke up, have I been… tell me about how I act around Naruto."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "You mean, how you react _without_ him."

Sakura frowned. "Is that…"

"I don't know what's going on between you two, but it's pretty obvious that you need him. He's a bit like your walking stick, if you'll think about it that way. Without him, you fall."_ And you break. He's not a walking stick; he's glue. He is what holds and keeps you together. Without him, you fall apart._

"Just like his last mission," Ino went on. She was watching Sakura carefully, watching, always watching. "I could tell you missed him."

"He's my friend… of course I missed him." _I kept feeling him everywhere when he was gone. Everywhere. _

By now, Ino was starting to see where her friend was trying to get at. "It's more than that. Naruto's been a pretty damn good friend for letting you stay with him. He's been taking care of you all this time. How long has it been? A month? Two? He's always with you. He cares. A lot."

Sakura ran her hand through her hair and lowered her face into her palm. There it was again. Friend. Just what were they? Half of her wanted to leave Ino and be in Naruto's small apartment, eating ramen with him, laughing together, sharing preferred ingredients. But the other half of her, the side that had realised the intimacy behind the previous day's interaction; that half was afraid.

"Ino, we're friends, right?"

The blond was taken aback. "Well… yeah. I suppose." It was awkward, but thankfully Sakura had moved on.

"Then you and Shikamaru… what kind of friends are you?"

"What? Me and… Forehead, what are you up to now?"

"I… I don't know." Sakura groaned, and Ino's glare softened. "That's the thing, Ino; I don't know. I just… I just don't know!"

Seeing her friend so helpless and lost (because _he_ wasn't there to hold her hand and laugh and make everything alright again), Ino found determination. She reached over and took Sakura's hand, surprising the other girl ("Ino, what-")

"You do know, Sakura. It's in there somewhere. You just can't see it because it's right in front of you."

But it was obvious that Sakura did not see, because she came back the next day. And the day after that.

OoO

"You're taking advantage of me, aren't you?"

Sakura barely raised her head. "What are you talking about, Ino?"

"This is the sixth time in a row."

"What?"

"That you've come straight to my place after training. You stay here until the sky is dark and then you leave. Don't you have anywhere else to be?"

"No."

"What about Naruto?"

Sakura flinched. "Ino…"

"Did you two have a fight?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong? It's not like Naruto to let you-"

"Ino," Sakura interrupted. Ino stopped and saw that her eyes were shut. "Please." The words were pained. "Please… can you not say his name?"

"Why?"

"Just… just don't." _Because it_ hurts.

Ino was silent for a while. Absently, she regarded the daffodil that Sakura was occupying her fingers with. She and Naruto… they had a deep, strong bond. Ino could see that. All their friends could. He was the one she went to for comfort; she was all he ever cared about. Sakura's doubt (Ino was quite certain that the idiot _did_ see) was irrational.

"He bought you a bunch of those every day."

Sakura blinked slowly. "Huh?"

"The daffodils. Every day that you were in that coma, he visited you."

_Naruto…_ His name made her heart clench uncomfortably. She could picture him by her bedside, holding her hand, falling asleep by her side, gently exercising her limbs for circulation. She could see him so perfectly, the image constructed from her last memories of his smile and the warm touch she now identified him with.

How long had it been? She hadn't seen him for months. Many, many months. But then… without his touch, his warmth… why did that feel much longer? In the mornings, she waited until he left. Then she would go to train with either Tsunade or Kakashi. After that, instead of returning to the apartment, she would go to Ino's, and she would stay there. By the time she left, Naruto would have retreated to his room. And they never touched. She hadn't even heard his voice.

Naruto had noticed. He knew she was deliberately avoiding him. Was he angry? Had he given up? Not once had he tried to see her. He hadn't stayed up to wait for her or went to pick her up from training. This break felt very empty, very hollow.

It felt like she was trapped in a horrible genjutsu that was desolate isolation.

"Ino?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever tried to avoid someone?"

Ino cocked her head. "Like who?"

"Like… someone who really cares about you. Someone you care about… but don't know how much."

"Oh… yes."

"Who?"

"… You."

The guilt racked her again. It was familiar by now. Spending so much time with Ino lately, Sakura through her haze sometimes wondered how it would have turned out if they hadn't shattered their friendship over a boy neither of them had gotten close to understanding. She would make it up to Ino… one day.

"Did it… hurt?"

Ino smiled faintly and patted Sakura gently on the head. "I don't think that's the best comparison. How do you feel now?"

"I… I feel… it's like life is empty."

"Something's missing, isn't it?"

Sakura nodded.

She heard a sigh. "You know, Sakura, some things can't be handed to you on a plate. Even if you spend the rest of your life with me, I won't be able to help you with your problem. The only way you can solve this and get that weight off your chest is to tell him."

"But I…" _I don't even know what this is._

"Tell him, Sakura. Just tell him how you feel, what you think. Tell him what you _want_."

"What… what I want?"

"That's right."

_I want… I want him to feel his warmth._

_I want him to hold me._

_I want him to say my name._

_I want to hear his voice._

_I want to feel him near._

_I want to be there with him._

"I want to go home."

"Want me to come with you?"

"… No. I have my light."

OoO

He was in his room again. Before she could even raise her hand to knock, he opened it.

Silence.

Then he spoke. His voice was soft. "You're wet." That voice… the low tones, the concern, the warmth. The pressure lessened.

"It started raining halfway."

"You're soaked."

"I know." She bit her lip. Water was gathering at her feet. "Naruto…"

"Yes… Sakura?" Her name. The way he said it…

"I… I'm cold."

He sighed, more out of relief than anything, and gathered her in his arms. As always he was warm. She closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest. It felt so right…

He carried her into the room and she clung to him. He didn't seem to mind that she was getting him wet. On the bed, she sat between his legs and he cradled her.

"I missed you," he murmured into her hair.

Her breath choked there. "Naruto, I…"

He waited. The silence was enough. The questions were there.

She took a deep breath. "These past few days… I'm sorry for avoiding you."

"… Why?"

"Why isn't important. Did you think about me when I was gone?"

"All the time."

She sighed. "Naruto, we… I think we're in trouble."

He frowned and reached for her cold hand, chafing it between both of his. "Trouble? What trouble?"

"Do you remember the first week after I woke up? When I told you that even though I was living with you we were… could only be… friends?" She felt him stiffen, and she leaned into him, squeezed his hand.

"Of course I remember."

She closed her eyes and centred his presence in her mind. He was all that floated in the darkness, the only thing that shined and gave her light. "I don't know when it started," she whispered. "I just don't know when you became so important to me. I didn't notice… you were my best friend. I didn't think…"

He rubbed her back soothingly and rested his head on her shoulder. Their cheeks touched. She swallowed and drew strength from him.

"I still don't know what it is but… this past week, when you weren't there, I kept thinking about when you would come. When shishou was telling me to concentrate, I thought of you and how you never concentrated, but when you did you were amazing. And when Kakashi-sensei was helping me with my Earth manipulation, I kept waiting to hear your footsteps. I kept thinking that you would come and pick me up like you always did… but you didn't…

"I just couldn't stop thinking about you, Naruto. And I'm scared… I'm scared because I don't know what this is. I'm scared that this…" She raised trembling fingers to his face. Then she twisted and before she could realise what she was doing, she was throwing her arms around him and was burying her face in his neck. "I'm scared that this change will tear us apart," she confessed in a whisper.

It took a moment, but then he was embracing her back. And even though both of them were wet, they were warm. "It doesn't have to change," he told her. "Maybe… maybe this isn't what-"

She laughed shakily. "I don't see Hinata and Shino acting like us."

"Yeah, but Shino is… okay, fine, you have a point." He didn't let her go. "How am I supposed to feel?"

"I have no idea."

"I don't know how I should react. For so long I've been dreaming but now…"

She pulled away and rested her hands on his shoulders, drawing in a deep breath. "Naruto, please, promise me something… no matter what happens, if… if this works out or not… we'll still be… close."

"I promise. It's a promise of a lifetime. And I swear this won't turn out like the last one."

It assured her a little. A lot. Naruto always stuck to his promises. "How… how will we…"

"You don't have to do anything, Sakura. Until you're sure…"

"You don't get it, Naruto. I'm... blind."

"It doesn't matter."

"It does, Naruto, it does. I can't ask you to… I can't even say that I love you. I can't be so selfish."

He took her face in his hands. "But you need me," he said softly. "You need me. And as long as you do, I'll be there."

She sighed. Then she nodded. "I need you."

"Then we'll start from there."

"But…"

"Shh… really, Sakura, it doesn't matter. We'll work something out. We'll… what's the word…?"

"Improvise?"

"Ah, yeah, improvise. We'll improvise."

"How will that work?"

"No idea," he said truthfully. But he smiled, and she felt its radiance. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, remember? I make the impossible happen."


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

OoO

"I'm talking about fate here - when feelings are so powerful it's as if some force beyond your control is guiding you to someone who can make you happy beyond your wildest dreams." – _Alex & Emma_

OoO

He was doing it again, he knew. Pinching himself. It had never worked for him when he had been a child and the method proved to fail him again now. Naruto frowned and rubbed at his eye with the back of his hand. He hadn't quite gotten enough sleep. He had been thinking, mulling over some things he did not understand. It had only been after Sakura had fallen asleep that solid realisation had struck. Her weight and warmth, pressed against him, her regular breathing, made it difficult for him to ignore.

Ignore what? Her. Everything about her. How much her hair had grown since waking from the coma; the way she kept a loose hold of his shirt; the serene, relaxed expression on her face as she slumbered. She was warm, she was real. That made what she had said that night…

"_I just don't know when you became so important to me…"_

She had always been important to him. Always. Even when they had still been students at the Academy, he had thrived on her existence. She had, well, hated was rather harsh for children, but she hadn't liked him and had been annoyed that the idiot blond boy kept following her around. Truth was, Naruto had seen her before Sasuke had become her central focus. He had seen her smile and laugh with Ino, and he liked her. Didn't know why, just did.

And now? The magnitude of her significance was exceeding all other, and Naruto could barely fathom how much the same girl from his childhood meant to him.

"_I just couldn't stop thinking about you, Naruto. And I'm scared…"_

Was he scared, too? He was a bit incredulous to be scared, actually. It was like suddenly declaring him Hokage. Cliché as it was, Sakura's words last night was a dream come true. He had pictured the moment so many times, the frequency reducing as they grew older and he began to understand that love was something he understood about as much as Jiraiya's perverted ways – but he still thought about it.

"_I can't ask you to… I can't even say that I lo-"_

Skreeee!

"Shit!" Naruto rushed for the kettle, grabbing a cloth as he passed the sink. So much for making tea…

"Naruto?" a sleepy voice came from behind him.

"Ah! Sakura!" He turned around in surprise, almost knocking over the recently pacified kettle. Naruto blinked. She was hovering by the door, rubbing her eyes. She looked… cute. "Did I wake you?" he asked in a softer voice.

"Mm, no, I was about to get up anyway." She found the table without difficulty and drew out a chair for herself. Naruto was still coming to terms with her newfound independency. She was progressing and advancing so quickly; he wondered when she was going to start on Wind manipulation. Soon, she wouldn't need him anymore and that saddened him, just a little.

But it was a good thing, Naruto told himself, perking up. Sakura had her own place to make in the world, and it wasn't like he would never see her again or something. Quite the contrary… he rubbed the back of his neck as he recalled her words.

"Are you making breakfast?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah…"

Cocking her head, Sakura said, "You're quieter than usual today." Why was she trying to act like nothing had happened? She didn't know herself. She was rather uncertain today, despite all that she had said the previous night. Naruto hadn't reacted as… strongly as she had predicted. Yesterday, the relief of being in the other's presence after so long had drawn a bond between them. It had felt easier. But now, it was a new day, and Naruto had always been slow.

Sakura's hands, sheltered under the table, gripped her skirt. She bit her lip, wishing she could see his face, his expressions. She couldn't tell what he was thinking and it unsettled her.

There was a lapse of silence. She felt him move around, fiddling here and there, and he sat down next to her after a while. He placed a cup by her hand and she wrapped her fingers around the spherical container. The heat penetrated the numbness. "It's tea," he murmured. She nodded. Wordlessly, she sipped her drink, faintly wondering when Naruto had stocked a supply of jasmine.

"About yesterday…"

Her hands cinched a little tighter around her cup while he took a long drain from his.

He tried again. "Did you…"

"Yes." She wondered if knowing what he was thinking without having to wait for it was a good or bad thing.

"Ah…"

Sakura smiled faintly. "I told you we were in trouble." A morsel of uncertainty weaselled into her heart. Did her blindness bother him after all? Her confidence in herself and her handicap had improved since the beginning… but now, when it came to Naruto, she didn't know how to face it. It was easy being with him, fun, yet there was also a tint of sacredness. She didn't know where it had come from, when it had slipped in; she just knew that it was strong enough for Ino to pinpoint without hesitation.

Neither of them spoke for a while. Naruto threaded his fingers through his bed hair. It was one of the only times he truly felt like an idiot. He was at a loss. It had been much easier when she had been cold and vulnerable and he had been holding her. Why couldn't it work out like that now? Neither of them were sure anymore, plainly because neither of them had been… thinking… last night. It had been one of those times where things just clicked and slotted into place without contemplation.

It was no longer a crush, they both knew that. Somewhere along the lines of comfort and companionship, that hopeful affection had morphed into… something. Sakura didn't know what it was. It was like a stream of water; she could run her hand through it and try to grasp it, but in the end only the vestiges seeped through. She needed to cup her hands together… but that was not enough. She needed another pair of hands under hers to hold hers together and catch the water she spilt.

A hand, large and clement, brushed away the strands of hair shading her eyes and pressed its palm against her forehead. Sakura just closed her eyes. She had not been expecting it yet the sudden contact her not startled her at all. It was familiar… comforting. It was Naruto. They really were in trouble.

"You were out in the rain yesterday. You didn't catch a cold, did you?"

"No, I'm okay. What about you?" She had gotten him wet, too. But he'd still been very warm, very… for some reason, 'warm' was the most associable word to her when it came to Naruto. His solid presence assured and soothed her, and his body heat was one certainty she could rely on to expect.

Hesitantly, Naruto pulled away his hand and grinned. "Naw, I don't get sick a lot, you know that." He wanted to add something… something Naruto Uzumaki would say at this moment. Like, 'Hokages are stronger than that' or something of the calibre. But he couldn't. It didn't… it just didn't fit. Not like she did…

He wanted this to work out. For so long, he had been imagining this day. Yet it was not perfect. It had been so much more simpler when he had seen it through a child's eyes. It was all about living happily ever after. Naruto wanted to reach back into time and give that naïve child a good whack in the thick skull. Everything, in comparison to the paradise his younger self had fantasised of, was skewered. He just didn't know what to do with the moment.

"You promised." She spoke suddenly, and Naruto's eyes flickered to her, alarmed. Her voice sounded choked… but there were no tears. She had cried so much in such a short amount of time. He didn't ever want to see her cry again. He didn't want to wipe away her tears knowing that he had caused her grief.

"You promised," she said again. Her voice was a little stronger now, more like the Sakura Haruno he knew. "Yesterday. You promised that we'd still be close not matter what came out of this."

"I know. I'll never go back on my word, Sakura." Yes, everything was skewered. This wasn't the way he had seen it happen. Sakura was blind and she needed him more than ever. They knew it. She needed him. And now… he needed her as much. Why? How the hell was he supposed to know?

_Love's a funny thing, kid_, Jiraiya kept telling him when they had been travelling together and he had been writing his books. Usually, Naruto would never take any romantic advice from the pervert but now he had the feeling he needed anything he could garner.

But then… was this even love?

Sakura drank the last of her tea. Love. She felt like groaning. What did it mean? She felt an abrupt surge of longing for her passed parents. She missed them and she needed their advice. They knew love. They could explain to her. They had lived through their daughter's own fantasy of love.

"_I… I love you with all my heart!"_

"Sasuke."

Sakura raised her head. She could hear the rueful smile in his voice. It sounded forced.

"You loved him… didn't you?" He watched her carefully. To this day, Sakura still had no idea of that day. That day Sasuke came back. The memory of his touch mollifying her when Naruto's had failed to haunted him.

"I suppose I did… yeah." She didn't want to lie. Not to herself. Not to him. Truthfully, she had been infatuated with Sasuke. However, she had felt closest to him in the end, those last few moments with him when she had pleaded for him to stay. Had that been love? Was _this_ love?

"I want to be honest with you, Naruto," she said quietly. She had his attention. It made it that much harder. "I think about him all the time. He blinded me and every time I'm alone and I realise that I can't see… I think of him. It's like he's part of me now. At every turn, I remember him. But I don't hate him. I can't." Her hands were fists again and she was smiling softly, trying to keep her voice, her thoughts, straight. "To me, he's still Sasuke. He's still _our_ Sasuke."

Naruto noticed the tremor in her voice. He didn't know when his hand had inched over to hold hers. He didn't hate Sasuke. Like Sakura, he couldn't. Sasuke Uchiha might be sawing at the bonds that Naruto was just barely clinging onto but the strands were still holding up. However… if the bastard hurt Sakura ever again, Naruto would have more than enough reason to hate.

"To me, we're still Team Seven. We're still young and we're still together and our biggest problem was Kakashi-sensei's tardiness. That's how I remember us. My feelings for Sasuke have changed since he left… I'm not sure what they are anymore. He's still Sasuke… and you're still Naruto. So," she went on, voice getting softer, quieter, "it's alright if you're feeling like a replacement for Sasuke. I know… I understand…" It was getting harder; she could feel the weight of his gaze on her. "If it's what you want, nothing has to change. I-"

His hand was no longer holding hers. His arms were wrapped tightly around her. Sakura closed her eyes, embracing him back, pressing the side of her face against his shoulder. "I don't want to lose you," she whispered.

It was coming back; that feeling he had felt yesterday. He held her a little closer and breathed in her scent. "It'll work, Sakura. And if it doesn't… we'll figure something out."

"That's what you said last night."

"I know but today's different. At least now we have this off our backs. We know what this is now."

"No we don't."

Her rebuttal made him grin. He had underestimated how much he had missed her. "Okay, so we don't. But-"

"I know, Naruto. We'll work something out." And maybe they would… but not right now. She had avoided him for days just to realise this 'something' and now that he was here and he knew, she just wanted him to stay with her. She wanted this moment to freeze. Then they would not have to advance or look back and regret their decision. The future was wavering; nothing was ever for certain.

And no one should ever expect anything from Naruto Uzumaki.

"Well," he said after a while as they pulled away and he was tousling his hair and smiling sheepishly, "one thing's for sure."

_What did I tell you?_ "Oh?"

"Yeah… Granny Tsunade's going to kill me."

OoO

Kakashi sensed their chakra signatures before he even turned off the main street and ventured into the woodlands that fringed the training ground he had arranged. They were on time and he was late. It was almost like the old times… almost.

He was pleased to know that Naruto was with Sakura. For the past several days the girl had been attending the elemental manipulation lessons by herself; no one came to pick her up when she was finished, and she hadn't even tried to wait the first time. She had just quietly tugged on Kakashi's sleeve and asked if he could drop her off at the Yamanaka Flower Shop. To this day, Kakashi still did not know if Naruto had shown up that day.

If they were together again, it meant things were back to normal.

Kakashi wondered what 'normal' was. As Copy Ninja Kakashi, it was 'normal' for him to kill with silent efficiency, to be a ruthless, well-oiled machine of destruction. As a natural genius, it was 'normal' for him to exceed basic limitations and climb the ranks faster than those twice his age. As a fanatical reader of Jiraiya's Icha Icha works, it was 'normal' for him to be seen walking the streets of the village with a little orange book cradled in his hand.

But, as "Kakashi-sensei", was it 'normal' for him to feel useless to his students? He probably should have failed the three of them when he'd had the chance, back when they had been his cute little genins. He missed those young, rash children. Kakashi absently ran his hand through his hair and closed his eye.

"_When are the three of you going to grow up?"_

"_What do you mean, Sensei? I'm a man already!"_

"_I can so see that."_

"_Grr… are you calling me short, Sasuke?"_

"_Don't glare at Sasuke like that, baka!"_

To begin with, there had been three of them, and now there were just two. Kakashi found himself amused as he approached his awaiting students. Barely anything had turned out the way he could have envisaged it. He stopped by the trees for a moment. He could see them now, the remaining two of the original three. They were playing hide and seek. Ironic.

Sakura was the seeker. She had always been trying to find her own path. It wasn't easy, shadowed by her intense teammates. She had gotten much stronger since that young naïve girl who saw only the backs of those protecting her. Right up to the incident of her blindness, Sakura had been following Tsunade's path but now her lack of sight had opened up something new, something different.

Something like Naruto, who tackled her to the ground when she found him; who cushioned her fall with his own body and tickled her and made her laugh. Having fun while training at the same time – it was just like Naruto to come up with something like that. Kakashi chuckled quietly. You couldn't really teach a bird how to fly; all you could was wait for them to spread their wings and fly with them when they could.

This generation had better wings that all of them. Better wings than he, Kakashi Hatake; better than the Legendary Sannin. They had the capability to go higher, and as Kakashi watched, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were soaring away from him. They didn't need him anymore but in case they did, he'd make sure the nest was still there when they came looking.

OoO

"So… what are we going to do, Naruto-sensei?"

"Ne, quit calling me that, Sakura."

They were back at the apartment. Naruto was sprawled on his back on the floor, his legs resting on the couch where they were tangled with Sakura's. She leaned over and poked his knee. "But technically, you _are_ my teacher," she told him.

"Okay, fine, here's your homework: remind me to air out the futons tomorrow; they're catching more dust than Gamakichi is snagging flies."

She threw a cushion at him.

"Then _you_ do it. Your first mission."

Another cushion.

"_Ow_! Were you aiming that one?"

"Mm, no. Where'd it hit you?"

"… Nothing."

"… Oops. Sorry." She giggled for a little bit and then flopped back onto the couch, blinking at the ceiling and the cracks in the paintwork that she could not see. "So that's it for Earth manipulation, huh?"

"Yeah."

Earlier that afternoon, Kakashi had told them that he'd done what he had set out to do. Sakura knew the basics of the Earth manipulation and it was all a matter of practice and easing it into her senses. It was apparently needless to continue setting out exercises for her.

Also, it seemed he was not quite as compatible with Wind as he was with Earth. "I can teach you," he'd said, "but I don't really know all that much about it myself. I'm more adept at Earth and Lightning." And here he'd set his hands on her shoulders and she'd had the feeling that he was looking at her with that eye of his and smiling. "I know _you_ might be able to do it, Sakura. You're more widespread and not as likely to be restricted by the element transitions."

Naruto hadn't gotten much out of that but he was certainly at attention on what Kakashi-sensei said next.

"I'm going to put Naruto in charge of teaching you Wind manipulation. He's a natural Wind type; you'll do better learning from him. He'll take care of you, Sakura." It was almost like Kakashi was handing her over to him… it was almost like he _knew_…

He reached for one of the cushions Sakura had tossed at him and covered his face with it. "We're screwed." His voice came out muffled.

"You sound funny," she said absently.

"I'm not sure if I can do this, Sakura."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm no teacher." The only thing he had really passed onto someone was the Sexy Jutsu to Konohamaru and that wasn't much of a resumé. More importantly, it wasn't Konohamaru anymore. It was Sakura. He couldn't… if he did a bad job of it, she would pay the price.

Sakura sat up. "That's hardly an excuse, Naruto."

"You don't get it, do you?" His voice was rising and he couldn't help it. "If you continue being a kunoichi you'll be using this manipulation stuff in the field to fight, to be your eyes. If I haven't taught you properly and a kunai came flying at you, what do you think will happen?" But he _didn't_ want to think about it. He didn't want to see Sakura's broken and mangled body. He didn't want to see her hurt… "I just don't want you to die," he murmured.

He shifted his head. The cushion slipped off. Sakura was kneeling down next to him. He reached up and fingered a loose thread on her skirt. "Is that what you're worried about?" she asked softly.

"What else would it be?"

"I… don't know." She bit her lip and turned her head away. "But I want it to be you, Naruto."

"Why?"

Was she… laughing? Naruto levered himself up on his elbow and gazed at Sakura's face. She really was laughing, but not in that joyous way. "You have to ask me why?" she finally managed to say. "Because I _trust_ you, Naruto."

He tilted his head at a slight angle. "That's it?"

A pause. "We're just finally figuring this out, Naruto. This… this…" Her fingers combed into his hair and traced down his cheek. "_This_." And their foreheads were touching and their eyes were closed. "I just want to show you I trust you, that's all," she whispered.

It had only been two days ago that they had been struggling to come to terms with this newfound… not-sure-love thing. Two days of no missions or training. Two days of settling back into normal routine yet waking up and going to sleep with that extra something that wasn't quite separated by the walls of their individual bedding quarters. Not much had changed yet it felt so foreign, as if an extra chemical had fused into the air they were breathing.

It wasn't uncomfortable, no, but it was rather unsettling. This was the change that Sakura had been afraid of. What if they didn't get along as well as they once had? Part of her wanted to be in Naruto's arms again and just let him comfort her. She could forget everything like that. But that was running away. She had been doing a lot of that lately. She needed to be strong now, and with Naruto's support she finally felt like she could face the world without him having to steady her. Yet she didn't want to face the world _without _him… _That doesn't even make any sense._

"You're a little different today, Sakura," Naruto noted. His breath brushed past her cheek.

"Hmm?"

"You're not as…" He couldn't quite find the word. Vulnerable, he supposed. Easy to break. "You're more like you were before the coma."

"That's not altogether good news for you," she pointed out.

Naruto grinned but it lasted only a moment before solemness took over once more. "I'm still not sure about teaching you. Maybe we should find someone-"

"Naruto."

"I really think they'll do a better job-"

"_Naruto_."

Silence told him she had his attention. She reached out, felt across his face, and tugged his nose. "Don't be an idiot," was all she said.

Naruto's eyes widened. He closed them momentarily, gathered his thoughts, feelings and emotions, and when he opened them again they were glimmering. He snapped playfully at her hand. "You're a bigger idiot than I am."

Sakura pulled away and threw another cushion at him.

OoO

He did not know why he had returned to this place. It wasn't like it held much significance. In fact, there was hardly any remnant of the fight that had taken place here almost half a year ago. Sasuke silently swept his gaze over nature's recovery; the weeds that sprouted from the crevice split by concentrated chakra impact; the peaceful tranquillity oblivious to the demonic fury that had once blistered the air.

There was hardly anything left of Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, nothing to indicate their previous presence – and yet Sasuke had been drawn back here.

He had long since forgotten the reason for the clash between Sound and Konoha. It had been staged at the border and all he knew was that, amidst the Sound shinobi and their opponents, those that had once been his own allies, those that were known as the Rookies, had been there. Naruto and Sakura.

Sasuke's hand found its way to the mark on his neck. He hadn't been able to place the value of his former teammates' existences. He could not forget them but had tutored himself to numb his feelings for them. He was left with a mess – it was a mess he had disregarded for a long time until that day, many months ago, when he had faced them again.

He was irritated that they could affect him like this. For the sake of his ambitions and advancement of his strength, he had left them behind. Team Seven, Konoha, Sasuke Uchiha himself. He had abandoned them, all of them… but now they were creeping back to him, haunting him.

Sasuke drew his hand away from his neck and looked at it. He didn't quite see the black guards. He saw blood. _Their _blood. Why did they continue to stain his fingers even after all this time? Why hadn't they just died those times? It would have made it much easier…

Why didn't they hate him?

"_When are you going to come home, Sasuke?"_

They wanted him back. He clenched his hand into a fist. Idiots. They were idiots. Annoying idiots. He had chosen his path; why couldn't they leave him? If they had, it would never have had to come to… this.

Sakura was blind. Sasuke didn't know how he felt about that. The last he had seen of her, she had been battling him, commendably holding her own, keeping him on his toes. No, the last he had seen of her, she had been pale and bleeding and cradled in Naruto's arms. Then, months later, Sasuke had detoured through Konoha on his way back from a task assigned to him by Orochimaru. He did not quite believe that his Chidori would manage to kill her, but he had certainly not been expecting to see her flailing feebly, _uselessly_, against a drunk Chunin.

He had taken away her sight. For the rest of her life, Sakura Haruno would not be able to see. Sasuke valued his eyes. They were integrated so deeply into him as a Uchiha. Something in his sparked at the thought of blinding someone, someone who had cared for him and whom he might have valued.

Naruto had been frighteningly fierce. Sasuke Uchiha was not by any means a coward, but he had felt a faint flicker of fear when he had been the sole focus of the blonde's crimson, slitted glare. That day, Naruto had fled the fight to find medical treatment for Sakura but he had obviously continued to remain very protective of her.

"_I'll kill you if you do."_

It was the first time Sasuke had truly felt hated. Hated by the person who had once been his best friend, as close as a brother.

It shouldn't be any different, he told himself. It _wasn't _any different. She had gotten in his way and he had merely eliminated the threat. They should have been expecting it.

And yet, remembering Sakura's limp, lifeless form and Naruto's overwhelming pain and grief, Sasuke couldn't brush off the feeling that he had done something terribly wrong.

Not that it mattered. Nothing mattered anymore. All that did was his one objective. Itachi.

Sasuke's eyes glinted as he raised his hand to his lips and discharged a stream of flames. The trees writhed in the heat and the animals that had once made the woodland home fled in a flurry of confusion and fear. He turned and walked away.

Now he had nowhere to return to.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

OoO

"The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation that you ever had." – _Anonymous_

OoO

Sakura liked to think that she had an extensive vocabulary. Spending so much time reading books and scrolls must have benefited her in some way. Then… why was 'annoyed' the only word she could find to describe herself at the moment?

"You gave me the bag with the instant ramen, didn't you?" she huffed at Naruto as they stepped out onto the street.

"The soy sauce is in there too," he replied helpfully.

"It doesn't even weigh anything! I bet you're carrying at least six bags – give me some."

"Nuh-uh."

"Give me the rice then."

"Um… no."

She frowned. Naruto's overprotective nature had thankfully eased but now he seemed to take pleasure in teasing her, playing around. In other words, he was still looking out for her, still keeping her away from heavy work, still monitoring her. But it was a little easier for both of them now. They could almost feel normal. Almost. She appreciated his effort, though.

"I _am_ stronger than you," Sakura pointed out.

"Oh yeah," he relented. She could picture his lopsided grin. "You can take down a building faster than a monster, Sakura."

Being blind made it difficult to glare but Sakura thought she did a commendable job. "Just because I love you doesn't mean I won't hit you," she warned him.

"Oh? You love me? Really?"

"It's called sarcasm, Naruto."

"So… you _don't _love me?" He sounded hurt. Sakura winced.

"No! I mean, yes… no…? I – I _do_ love you." She stopped, the heavy realisation settling in. "… I did not just say that."

"I love you too, Sakura," Naruto sang, swooning dramatically.

"I-It doesn't count!" she sputtered, going red.

It was rather ironic. Where Naruto had once been unwilling to let her out of his sight, Sakura now craved his presence with equal value. The reason was no longer of the fear of being alone, of being lost without a guiding hand. It was simply because she wanted to be with him. It was comfortable.

Now that her insecurities had been answered, Sakura found herself gradually easing out of the constant state of anxiety she had withdrawn into over the weeks. Acceptance had been an important step for her. Embracing her blindness, her training, her life – embracing Naruto. Sakura felt more like herself than she had been for a long time. It was such a rapid shift that she had been unbalanced by it.

The bag of groceries she had been carrying was taken away from her hand before she could register the lack of weight. She tensed but Naruto's voice told her they hadn't been robbed. "I'm just sending a clone back with the stuff."

"What's the point?" she asked. "Weren't we going home anyway?"

"Yeah… but now I can do this." His hand closed around hers. "Let's go walk around, Sakura." He was being rather bold but that was just Naruto being himself. At least he had the grace to sound slightly embarrassed. They were both like children sometimes, Sakura mused. Even though they had realised that they had far exceeded the bonds of regular friendship, neither of them had so much as made direct moves or proposed changes. Perhaps they had already been so closely knitted before that there was no more room to progress.

Except for this.

Naruto lightly swung their linked hands as they walked. Sakura detected an extra spring in his step. She smiled. He was so easy to please.

Suddenly, she sensed another familiar chakra presence.

She instinctively tried to tug her hand away from Naruto's. He held her fast. "What's the matter, Sakura?" he asked, puzzled.

"Ino's coming!" she hissed at him. And here she was thinking she was the blind one.

"So? Don't you want her to see us together?"

Sakura stopped. Why _had_ her first thought be to separate herself from Naruto? Was she not ready for Ino to find out about them? Or was some buried part of her still denying that 'the one' had turned out to be, of all people, Naruto Uzumaki?

"It's okay if you don't want her to," Naruto murmured. "I know it's probably uncomfortable." He started untangling his fingers from hers. Disappointment. She knew him well enough to know that she had wounded him. Sakura was still undecided but they had been having such a good day; she didn't want to ruin it for him.

She fastened her hold on him. "No, it's fine. It shouldn't matter, should it?"

"You sure?" Did he ever get tired of looking out for her like that? It made her feel horrible, especially now that she could understand all that he had done for her. Naruto had never ceased to put her first.

She just squeezed his hand.

"Hey, there you are," came Ino's voice. "I went to the apartment but you were out…" The pause told Sakura that she had noticed. "Right…" she muttered. "Anyway, you remember how we were planning a picnic with everyone, Sakura? Are you two coming?"

She remembered. It was suddenly much easier _planning_ than thinking of actually _going._ It had been so long since she had seen… well, been with everyone.

"When is it?" Naruto asked.

"About a week; Neji's still out on a mission. I'll let you know. Come on, Billboard Brow, everyone wants to see you," Ino encouraged. Sakura grimaced. She could trust her friend to be blatant.

"Umm…"

Naruto filled in for her. "I think she's a little too hungry to make up her mind. How about we get back to you tomorrow after I've spoon-fed her?"

Sakura thrust an elbow his way, though she was grateful for his intervention.

"That's fine. I'll be babysitting the shop again – just drop by." Sakura had the feeling Ino was looking at her; she leaned into Naruto's arm. "I need to find Lee," Ino said, in a softer tone than before. "Any ideas where I might have luck?"

"The training grounds, for sure," Naruto grinned.

"Hmm, thought so… guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Ino laid her hand on Sakura's shoulder as she passed. "Tch, you're getting split ends, Billboard Brow. I'll fix them up for you next week." She said it like she was definitely attending the picnic. Of course, it was likely in Ino's best interest to see her friend there.

Sakura felt alienated as Ino walked away.

But then Naruto was tugged gently at her arm. "Let's go eat, Sakura."

OoO

After lunch, Naruto took her down to the lake. Sakura had been brooding a lot over the meal, thinking about too many things at once. He understood that although her condition had been improving, waking up without her sight and getting mortally wounded by someone she truly cared about had left a psychological scar on her. Meeting everyone again, together, would undoubtedly be overwhelming for her. But it was a step she had to take sooner or later, and if he didn't help her along now the bridge would burn and she would never be able to cross it.

"Where are we, Naruto?" she asked him.

"The lake. And that's Naruto-_sensei._"

She smiled and let go of his hand. "Alright then, sensei. What will we be doing today?"

Naruto cleared his through in mock authority. "Today, my pupil, we will be focusing on 'feeling' the air. Sit down and take notice of the wind's presence. You can't use something you can't feel."

He could tell she was distracted despite her efforts to concentrate. In all honesty, Naruto was not sure if Sakura was able to connect with the Wind. She had been able to master Earth, and Wind was as uncorrelated to the element as his stomach and cold ramen. In any case, he found himself hoping that she would not be able to use Wind. It was such a rash element. Powerful offensive but if anyone slipped through the attacks, there was hardly any defence.

As if she wasn't vulnerable enough.

"It's a nice breeze," she commented after a while. She couldn't see the way the setting sun cast a sparkling glow on the lake. It was breathtaking.

"Get used to the feeling of it against your skin. Try to feel where the wind is coming from and where it's strongest; maybe something is blocking it off." Naruto had never fashioned himself as an instructor. That was why he had spent many hours scribbling over scrolls, crossing out methods he didn't think would work, carefully planning and memorising the 'lessons'. When it came to Sakura, he could not tolerate risks. He had to get it right.

"I'm a little jealous of the wind," Sakura said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"It gets to go wherever it wants, do whatever it wants."

After a while, she started to lean against him, resting her head on his chest. He started humming softly. She closed her eyes. "I've been thinking a lot lately," she murmured. "Sometimes I think I'm looking too deeply. The more I think about something the more afraid I get."

"Then don't think about it. Think of happy things. Like… ramen."

She chuckled. "I'm glad you haven't changed much, Naruto." But he _had_ changed, and they both knew it. Everything was changing. "Do you ever wish time could just stop and rewind? So we could fix all our mistakes and take back words we shouldn't have said. So we could have made a difference." _So Sasuke would still be with us and we'd all be happy._

"Sometimes, yeah," Naruto admitted. "But if you go back and change things… the future won't be the same. If you went back now, changing one thing might affect everything else. It's like dominoes, you know?"

"You just want to say that there would probably be no 'us' if something changed," she pointed out.

He grinned into her hair. "Maaaybe."

"Baka."

"You know you love me."

"In your dreams."

He played with her hair. It was longer now, resembling more of the younger Sakura he had known. The Sakura who had been simple and had smiled easily. Ino was right; she did have split ends. He fingered them. "Everyone was worried about you for a long time, you know. Even Neji came by once a week when you were in that coma, and you know how he is."

"I know they care about me. I just don't know if I'm ready to face them all again. I'm not the same Sakura Haruno they knew."

"Come on, Sakura, we all change," Naruto told her, "but deep down, we're all still the same. Lee still has horrible fashion sense, Shikamaru still watches clouds, Choji still likes chips, Tenten still likes playing with sharp things, Hinata sti-"

"I get it," she said abruptly, shaking her head. A cool breeze swept by and she turned her face into the fabric of his jacket. He gently rubbed her cheek, warming it. "I don't want them to feel sorry for me, Naruto. I don't want to go to a gathering with all our friends and be the one who stands out. I don't want that. I just want to be _normal._"

Didn't they all? "They're not going to be like that, Sakura," he soothed her. "They're our friends. I swear, if anyone dares say you got fatter, I'll punch them for you."

She smacked his knee, scowling. "I did _not_ get fatter."

"That's what you think." Naruto wasn't going to tell her how small she looked when she was alone, how he was afraid that she would eventually become so faint that she would fade into nothing.

"Say that again?"

"It's going to be fine, Sakura."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Say that again, Naruto."

OoO

At first Ino wondered if she had done the wrong thing in organising the gathering, if she had been pushing it too quickly, if she should have done it in certain groups. Sakura had already met up with the other Rookies since her recovery, but that had been individually. There had not yet been an occasion where they were all together. There hadn't been such an event for a long time. And sometimes, Ino wondered if there ever would be, because no matter which way you looked at it, someone was missing.

She had already told everyone to take it easy beforehand, to not strangle Sakura with hugs or treat her any differently to anyone else. It wasn't just a meeting between friends; it was a ceremony of extending their ties to Sakura again. Building a bridge from scraps. It seemed it was unavoidable, no matter what Ino tried to do. There was still some sort of tense atmosphere; everyone was trying too hard to act casually.

But then Kiba, tired of the hopeless situation they had been thrown in, decided to play Hit the Piñata with water balloons. No one asked where he had gotten the balloons or the ridiculous idea. He just climbed up the tree, tied a couple of balloons to a branch with wire, and found himself a nice long stick on the ground.

"Alright!" he said triumphantly when he'd finished. "Who hits the hardest? Sakura! Up you go!"

Kiba was so tactless Ino smacked her forehead.

"K-Kiba!" Hinata gasped. He blinked confusedly at her for a moment, and then flinched.

"Crap."

Naruto chewed on his lower lip. "Can I hit him, Sakura?" he asked jokingly, rolling up his sleeve. But he didn't take his eyes off the pink-haired girl, watching her so carefully, with so much concern and attention that Ino felt she was intruding.

"Hey, easy, Naruto, I just forgot!"

"Say it to the tree, Kiba! Whaddya say, Sakura, can I hit him?"

She laughed.

Everyone disregarded Ino's instructions, and stared at Sakura. She sounded… carefree. Sakura Haruno was really laughing. Somehow, she was happy.

The blind girl beamed at them. "It's okay, Naruto," she smiled. "He forgot."

And then Ino knew. Sakura had been wishing so hard to be her old self again, to be that girl who could see and could smile and had everything, and in the short moment that it had been granted, it was a miracle to her.

OoO

Ino cornered him when it was time to pack up. Sakura was collecting the food with Hinata and Tenten, and didn't notice when her friend grabbed Naruto by the arm and tugged him into the trees.

"Hey, I knew I was attractive, but Kami, Ino, not you too!"

"Quiet, you," she scolded. "I have to talk to you."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, that's probably why you dragged me here." But he showed her that she had his attention. When Ino got down to it, she was serious, and in this case, he had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to discuss with him.

Ino leaned against a tree. "Sakura had fun today, huh?"

She had. It had started off uncomfortably, but Kiba's oblivious genius had drawn Sakura out. Everything had just… worked out. It was amazing how something could start off so badly and, in a breath, become something wondrous. Sakura had time to be herself again, and it wasn't only around him now. While Ino had tidied her hair, she had been braiding Hinata's, and they talked about 'girl stuff' with Tenten. She had even managed to hit the balloon and gotten sprayed with water. And she had laughed.

It was the way it was supposed to be.

"She was scared of coming," Naruto told his companion. "She could barely get to sleep last night; she was so nervous about everything."

Ino eyed him. "I'm sure you helped her get to sleep."

He blinked. Well, they had shared a bed. He had only held her while they slept. They had been falling into the habit of doing that lately.

"Listen up, Naruto Uzumaki. I'm only going to say this once." Ino crossed her arms, frowning. "It doesn't matter if she's blind or not; Sakura's still my best friend. I'm the only one who can pick on Forehead, got it?"

_Oh, so _that's_ what it's all about._ Naruto nodded.

"I'm telling you, if you hurt her in any way, Uzumaki, I'll…" She didn't finish her threat. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. This was supposed to be the parents' job, not hers. "I'm hoping it'll never come to that. I can see you two have been getting close. You were there for her when she really needed someone." Ino raised her eyes to meet Naruto's. "Please, Naruto… please don't do what he did."

It struck Naruto at that point. Ino and all their friends cared deeply for Sakura. They were equally cut by her loss, but they had realised that he was the only one who had truly gotten to her, and they were relinquishing the responsibility to him. He had achieved what they could not. What could he say? He was good at what he did.

Ino didn't seem surprised when he embraced her. She just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're good for her," was all she whispered.

OoO

There were many things that rose Sasuke Uchiha's suspicion. Being invited to dinner with a renegade Sannin was one of them. He usually distanced himself from Orochimaru, tolerating him for bare reasons. Now, as he bluntly stared down the length of the table, he wondered what the man wanted. Kabuto was peculiarly absent; the silver-haired youth was usually hovering behind his master. Sasuke had seen very little of him in the past week.

"Why aren't you eating, Sasuke?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Lost your appetite?" Orochimaru hadn't touched much of the food either. Sasuke turned his head away. This was meaningless; he didn't need a bonding session. Bonds were what dragged him down.

"I'm going to train." Sasuke rose to leave. The chair scraped against the stone floor, echoing coldly in the chamber.

Orochimaru chuckled. "You are so impatient, Sasuke… have you been thinking of Itachi lately?"

_Itachi._ He paused. _Had _he been thinking about Itachi? Sasuke's eyes darkened. What kind of question was that? He was _always_ thinking of Itachi. Itachi was the reason he was here, the reason he had pushed himself so far, so hard, to become stronger. Itachi was the reason he had defected from Konoha, left behind his friends, hurt them.

His silence prompted his host to continue. "Kabuto has been out gathering information for me." That explained the lack of presence. "Would you be interested in hearing what he has discovered?"

"If you don't say it now, I'm leaving."

"My, you are much too cold, Sasuke. But you have gotten stronger… strong enough to defeat Itachi, perhaps."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowed. "Where is he?"

Orochimaru was smirking. "Kabuto has successfully tracked down his location. If you plan to kill him, I can organise for Itachi's partner to be eliminated, so you can take your revenge without interruptions. Your brother's eyesight has been failing him… I'm quite sure you can handle him."

Fighting someone at their weakest was cowardly. However, regardless… "Tell me where he is."

"Now, now, where are your manners?"

Not many could stare into the Snake Sannin's slitted eyes with fear or emotion. Sasuke could. He regarded Orochimaru stonily.

Slowly, the man took a sip from his cup. "I want to make a deal with you… Itachi's whereabouts for a task from you."

Sasuke considered. "Name it," he said.

"Akatsuki has been very active lately. They have almost captured all of the tailed beasts." Orochimaru's pallid lips formed a coy smile. "It won't be long before they go after Naruto Uzumaki."

Something flickered in Sasuke's eyes.

"But as you know," Orochimaru went on, "I have clashed with Akatsuki on several occasions… and Kabuto and I are quite interested in performing some experiments on the host of the Nine-Tails."

_Experiments._ Sasuke had seen Orochimaru's subjects. He had been to his laboratories, seen the mutilated forms. Some lived. Some didn't. More importantly, Naruto did not belong in Sound. He was too bright, too cheerful – too pure. He had to remain with Sakura. He had to take care of her.

But… Sasuke's hands clenched. Itachi. He was confident he could take on his brother – but his partner, Kisame, could prove to be a problem. He might not be able to handle both at once. Orochimaru was offering him vital assistance…

He knew the man was watching him. "You want me to go to Konoha and bring Naruto here," he said emotionlessly. "Capture him." Surrender him to someone like Orochimaru, snuffle out the light, bring him to a place he would never be able to crawl out of.

"Yes. Kabuto will lead a diversion team."

"I don't need a diversion. I can handle this on my own." Could he?

"I'm sure you can… but this is also a very good opportunity to deal a blow to the Leaf. Tsunade will not be expecting the attack." In the end, it had come down to this. "Kabuto will be back in a week. You can leave once he returns."

Sasuke wordlessly left the room.

Itachi was the reason for everything, and if Naruto died, it was all his fault.

OoO

It was getting dark by the time the Rookies said their goodbyes and parted for their own ways. They ended up sitting around for while after the picnic itself had drawn to an end. They talked about the old days, about Naruto's antics, everyone's changes. They talked about the Jonin Exams; Naruto noticed Sakura fidget when the topic was brought up. No one mentioned Sasuke.

"Phew, that was a long day, wasn't it?" Naruto smiled brightly as he and Sakura walked home. "Did you have a good time?"

Sakura pulled Naruto's jacket tighter around her shoulders. "I'm glad I went," she said truthfully. Even though some topics had cut closer to bone than anyone could understand, she had enjoyed being with her friends. She could have been a little more at ease, however, and resolved to be more sociable the next time.

"I still say I won that eating contest with Choji," he said indignantly, pouting.

"I'd be worried if you did."

"Hey, don't worry!" he grinned. "I've got an iron stomach, I tell ya! I'm indestructible!"

Sakura's smile pulled taut. "_Nothing_ is indestructible," she muttered. Not even Naruto. That was what she was afraid of.

He looked down at her. Why was she worrying over so many things? It seemed the more she stabilised, the more she looked back, and the more she looked back, the more she found to doubt. He would never understand girls. "Cheer up, Sakura," Naruto said. "Come on, I'll even give you a piggyback."

"I don't need a pi – hey!" She grabbed his jacket before it could slide off. "I can walk by myself, you know."

"I'm giving you a chance to be taller than me for once, don't you like it?" Naruto ducked his head, grinning, before she could smack him. "And besides, you're probably tired after all that."

"If I find any hint that you're being sexist, Naruto Uzumaki, you'll know you're in trouble." But she put her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. His cheek was warm. His back was much broader than she remembered.

Naruto hummed as he walked. He was careful not to jostle his passenger, and after a few streets he started wondering if Sakura had fallen asleep. She showed him that she hadn't by sighing and burrowing her face closer to his neck. "Something on your mind, Sakura?" he asked softly.

Her arms cinched a little tighter around him. "You should have taken the Jonin Exam with the others." Lee, Tenten and Shino had passed. Kiba had ended up taking it but hadn't been able to participate in one of the last rounds due to an injury that had him hospitalised for a week. He was retaking it next year. Their discussion had drawn guilt out of Sakura.

"Haven't we already talking about this? I can take them next year. It's not like I've missed out on much."

"You could be a Jonin by now."

"I don't want to grow up that quickly." Which was true. "And besides, we can take them together, Sakura."

"I don't think I'll be ready in a year." She wondered if she would ever be.

"Then I'll wait until you're ready," he answered, undaunted.

It had slipped by her how stubborn he could be. "You don't have to hold yourself back for me, Naruto," Sakura said exasperatedly.

He grinned. "But I want to."

"_Why?_"

"Because I want to be with you."

Oh, no, she was _not_ blushing. She pinched his cheek. "You're too stubborn," she lectured.

"Can I kiss you?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Her heart skipped a beat – several beats. "_What?"_

"Can I kiss you?" he repeated, as if he had only asked her to pass him the sauce.

"Where did this come from?" She hadn't even seen it coming. But then again, Naruto _was_ the number one ninja at surprising people.

"I dunno. Ne, so can I kiss you now?"

"N-No! I swear, Naruto Uzumaki, I am so going to-"

He turned his head and kissed her on the lips.

It didn't last particularly long. It was an innocent sort of kiss, mischievous. Naruto grinned and had the nerve to nuzzle her nose before he continued to walk. He was whistling, too, that idiot. Sakura was rather glad that she didn't have to walk.

"… _Much_ too stubborn."


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

OoO

"Why do all things come to an end?" – _All Good Things (Come To An End),_ Nelly Furtado

OoO

This, Tsunade mused to herself, was one of the reasons why she had never fancied herself as a mother.

"Mou, Shishou, you should stop drinking so much sake," Sakura told her. The light admonishment was so like her that Tsunade almost sighed.

"It's good stuff." The Fifth Hokage shrugged and poured herself another cup. Her eyes closed as Sakura's hands worked up to the neck, easing the knots of tension in her joints. "You're much better at this than Shizune," she said blissfully.

"Where is Shizune anyway? I hope you didn't make her do your paperwork again." Sakura remembered when she had been the one carrying the stacks of paperwork to their master's office while Shizune sorted through them in an adjacent room. She almost... missed it.

"I'm not that much of a slave-driver. She's out for lunch." Tsunade lightly swirled the dregs at the bottom of her cup. _Now… how to put this…_ "I heard you're going out with Naruto." It came out so blatantly that Tsunade grimaced. Definitely no mothering for her.

Sakura's hands paused for a moment. On some variation, Tsunade remembered having a similar conversation with Naruto when he had suggested that Sakura moved in with him. She specifically remembered reminding him to watch his step and that it was all too easy to draw bonds too thick. Despite her precaution, that was exactly what had happened.

"I guess you could say that," Sakura murmured.

It wasn't like she could disagree. In fact, Tsunade realised that Naruto was possibly the only person she would approve to be with Sakura. Naruto made friends like no other. But if Sakura was fragile with her blindness, Naruto wasn't unbreakable either.

"Hmm. You've had it coming for a while now," Tsunade said truthfully. "The gaki's not bad looking," she added thoughtfully.

"Shishou!" She didn't need to look to know that Sakura's cheeks were reddening. No matter how many people she had fought, how mature and responsible she was, Sakura was still a teenager, a child. They were very predictable.

Reaching over her shoulder, Tsunade caught Sakura's hand, stopping her. "Come sit with me, Sakura." She waited until the girl had lowered herself on the couch beside her before asking, "Sakura, do you really like Naruto?"

Her apprentice fidgeted uncharacteristically. "Maybe." Coming from Sakura, that was as good as a yes.

Tsunade regarded the young girl. Since Sakura's parents had died, Tsunade's role as a surrogate mother had taken on another level of significance. She was the closest to a guardian Sakura had. But the same could be said for Naruto. It should be Jiraiya's duty, except the pervert was off travelling again. Tsunade cursed her former teammate for leaving her with such an awkward situation. He was always... not exactly running away, but avoiding certain things. It sometimes took her all her empathy to refrain from seizing the idiot by his ridiculous mane of hair and yell into his ear that he had not failed everything. After all, this was the man who had shaped Naruto Uzumaki.

"Shishou?" It was the change in Sakura's tone which stirred her attention.

"Hmm?"

Sakura did not continue right away. She seemed to gather herself, drawing in a deep breath. "I think I know why you called me here," she revealed finally.

Something flickered in Tsunade's hazel eyes. Her student was still remarkably observant. However, Sakura appeared to have difficulties getting started, so Tsunade gave her a gentle prompt. "Naruto is a... special case."

That seemed to motivate her. "I know about Naruto... and what's inside him. The first time I saw him lose control I was really scared," Sakura began. The memory of the lusted beast her teammate had become burned strongly in her mind. "But he's still Naruto, isn't he?"

Tsunade nodded, knowing that Sakura would not be able to interpret it.

Sakura went on, though by now her voice was quieter and it seemed she was almost talking to herself. "Naruto said he had a difficult childhood. I never really noticed him when we were younger but I guess he must have been really lonely. It's just... he's always smiling, that idiot."

"He is an idiot. A big one," Tsunade agreed.

A small smile touched Sakura's lips. "I don't know how to say this, Shishou," she confessed, "but I won't hurt Naruto."

The words bore an unspeakable weight. Wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders, Tsunade stroked Sakura's hair. Naruto was right; it had grown much longer. For a short second, Sakura hesitated; she was well aware that the Sannin rarely displayed open affection. Then she leaned into her mentor's side, curling up. If she tried, she could imagine that she was with her mother. Almost as soon as the thought occurred to her, she felt a pang of guilt. Tsunade was not her mother. No one could replace her mother, but no one could replace Tsunade, either.

"Naruto grew up without parents," she heard herself say.

"It's sad, isn't it?"

"Yes."

After a pause, Tsunade asked, "How is your training coming along? How much teacher potential does the gaki have in him?"

Sakura pulled a face. "Him? Well, he... teaches like Naruto." If she had to be honest, he was doing a better job than she had anticipated. It was effortless to grasp the concepts the way he laid it out for her. Subconsciously, Sakura had come to realise that Wind was not impossible to wield.

"You are doing better with my training," Tsunade acknowledged. She felt Sakura flinch at the mention of her brutal methods. It was humorous that both her apprentices reacted the same way, but neither of them understood that there was nothing like the pain of a teacher inflicting harm on her own pupils.

They sat in silence for a period of time. It was hard to tell what Sakura was thinking. Young love could be so misleading sometimes.

Tsunade continued to comb her fingers through the pink strands. "Sakura, do you love him?"

It was no longer 'like', it was 'love', and Sakura picked up on that. Although she had been expecting it, it took effort to wrap her mind around that word. It was hard to apply it to her relationship with Naruto. She had used it many times in context to Sasuke... but 'love' did not seem to suit Naruto. 'Comfortable' would have been a more accurate representation. Everything was effortless around him.

So Sakura simply said, "He kissed me."

It took two seconds before Tsunade started laughing heartily. "Young love it is," she chuckled.

"Mou, Shishou, you're so mean!"

OoO

Naruto was getting dizzy. "Hey, Sakura," he panted, "I wouldn't mind... if you... slowed down a little."

"It was your idea," she pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but how was I supposed to know you were so good at it?"

"This is the first time I've tried, you know."

"Are you sure you didn't... cheat?"

"How am I supposed to _cheat?_" Sakura huffed. She tossed the floppy skin of another burst balloon aside. "Where's the next balloon?"

Naruto groaned, reaching into the supply. "Give me a second..."

He was impressed with Sakura's progress, if anything. It had taken him all night to come up with the idea, and in two days she had already nailed down the first part. Naruto had left her with a balloon, placed it on the floor five metres away from her, and told her to buoy it into the air with what she had learned of Wind manipulation so far. It had left him free to do some housework, but in between scrubbing the floor and cleaning the windows, he had observed.

It was quite a basic exercise if he had to think about it. He had tried it himself and succeeded within ten minutes. For Sakura, who had no experience with Wind chakra, she found it helpful to use hand motions to guide her chakra. It was especially hard for her since she could not physically see the balloon. But Sakura was a genius, and she had told him that she could tell where it was simply by concentrating on the difference in air movement between the particles inside the balloon's skin and those outside.

It wasn't long before she got the hang of it. Then Naruto came up with the ingenious idea that she should learn to apply force with the manipulation – in other words, pop the balloon. In the span of four days, Sakura was crushing them like they were paper bags. Naruto barely had a five minute break before she popped another.

He wondered if it was a good thing that she was improving so quickly. It was definitely feeding her confidence. But on the other hand, Naruto didn't want her to return to active kunoichi duty. He couldn't help it; he became worried when he tried to think of her going on a mission outside the village. Tsunade would disapprove as well, but knowing Sakura she would not rest until she felt she was not being undermined. It was just the way she was.

While he was distracted, Sakura had wandered over to him, and now she pinched him. She had actually been aiming for the ear but had missed and gotten his cheek instead. "What are you thinking about?"

Naruto allowed her to grab his other cheek and play around with his face like it was putty. "Itai," he complained. He could swear that Sakura was catching on to his characteristics. The thought made him smile. "You're getting better and better with using Wind manipulation," he observed.

She rocked back on her heels, sitting down opposite him. "Can't we go spar?" she asked. It was the same proposition she had been making for days now. Needless to say, Naruto was not keen on the idea.

"Aren't you rushing it a little?" he frowned a little. It seemed that the quicker she developed, the more eager she became to prove that she could do something. He understood that Sakura was feeling underworked after all this time and he knew that they would eventually have to reach the point where they trained together – but that didn't make it any more appealing.

It was ludicrous, he shook his head. He had become so overprotective. This was _Sakura_, the girl who could cave in his skull on the spot if she willed it. But to him, she was still Sakura, the girl who had been afraid to let go of his hand on the streets.

Sakura rolled her sightless eyes. "Naruto, I haven't done anything for _months_."

"Ne, you sound like a kid, Saku – ow!" She had flicked the balloon he had just inflated at his head. It was bouncing merrily above him.

"Can't we at least get a D-rank?" Naruto smiled. She was pouting.

He dived on her, eliciting a surprised yelp from her. "I'm going to need some convincing, Sakura," he grinned. He puckered his lips, making a distinct sucking sound for her to hear.

"N-No way, you pervert!" She smacked his face away, though not before he saw the blush dusting her cheeks.

"Aww, Sakura's shy!"

"Shut up!"

Their banter lasted ten minutes. As usual, they were very corporeal about it. Sakura ended up punching Naruto in the head when he tried to tickle her. Her accuracy took him aback; it seemed to surprise her as well. Then a slow smile grew on her face. "You'd better watch out, Naruto!" she called triumphantly. "I can – hey! Haha, stop it! Stop – hah – tickling me!"

Sakura retired to the couch so Naruto got the floor. He lay spreadeagled over Sakura's popped balloons, his hair ruffled. "Hey. Sakura?" he said.

She poked her head over the edge of the couch, hair sliding over her shoulder and brushing against his forehead. "Hmm?"

"What's it like... to be blind?"

The question startled her. Naruto asked it with such childlike curiosity that Sakura could not find an ounce of pain in her. She slid down to the floor next to him. "Well, it's dark," she said. "And you get scared that you'll trip over something. It makes you want to stand still and never move."

"Does it scare you?" he asked softly.

Her fingers curled into a fist against the floorboards. "A little bit," Sakura whispered. Naruto's hand was warm and big. She nestled against his arm. He exuded a sense of security that was different to Tsunade's. "Why are you asking me this?"

His head rested against hers. "I wanted to understand what it was like to be you... will you ever forget what I look like, Sakura?"

"Of course not, baka." But now she wasn't so sure. Sakura had come to relate Naruto to an assuring presence. He was just... there. At the moment, she could remember his profile vividly. The untameable spike of bright hair, the cerulean eyes that sparkled with laughter, that silly grin of his... What would happen if she forgot how Naruto looked like? Would he still be the same Naruto?

Her hand traced over his face. Naruto sighed, leaning into her touch. "It must suck being blind."

"It more than sucks." Sakura wondered if their relationship would have developed otherwise if she had retained her sight. She wasn't going to find out, was she?

"Sasuke did this to you." His voice was harder at the mention of the Uchiha, though Sakura could hear the tint of regret and sorrow. "Do you hate him for it?"

"Do you?"

The silence was his answer.

"Naruto, I've been thinking... if I hadn't gone ahead that time; if I had waited for you and gone after Sasuke together... do you think we would have been able to bring him back?"

"Sakura..."

"I'm just curious."

Naruto squeezed her hand. He tried not to think of how broken she had been in his arms, how he had stood at the basin for as long as her operation had lasted, struggling to decide if he should wash her blood off his hands. "The teme will come home only if he wants to, Sakura," he said. He didn't know when his arms had circled around her waist, or when hers had found their way around him.

"You're asking lots of weird questions today," Sakura noted quietly.

"Does it bother you?"

She shook her head. "No. I... like that we can talk like this."

"I knew I fell in love with you for a reason," he smiled, enjoying her blush. She smacked him half-heartedly. It was funny how the atmosphere could shift so quickly from a light-hearted one to a solemn replacement, and it was wondrous how they both flowed with the alteration.

Again, the lapse of silence did not last long. Hesitantly, Naruto broke it. "Sakura?"

She chuckled. "You have another question?"

"Yeah, I..." He suddenly turned away. "Actually, nothing."

Sakura's brow furrowed. "Naruto? You can tell me. I won't laugh or anything."

"It's not that," he mumbled.

"Then what?"

"I forgot."

"Naruto." Sakura cupped his chin in her hand, and for all his certainty Naruto could almost swear that she was glaring at him. "Tell me."

Her grip on him was as strong as it had ever been. Naruto gently tugged Sakura's hand down, clasping it between his own. He looked straight into her glazed eyes.

"Sakura, if Sasuke and I were both about to die, who would you save first?"

Sakura's next breath caught painfully in her throat. He wasn't asking her who she loved more; he wanted to know who was more important to her. Her lips pressed thin together, and she was worried that she had to _think_ about it. It should be instantaneous. She was with Naruto now. She... loved him.

And yet Sasuke was still very _there_ in her heart. He was Sasuke. Disregarding that she had spent her Academy years helplessly drifting after him, Sasuke was important to her, too. He was her teammate. He was the reason why she and Naruto were fighting so hard.

But Naruto and Sasuke were both different. Heck, they were polar opposites.

_Who would I save... first?_

Naruto seemed very upset with himself. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I shouldn't have asked it – it was really stupid of me." His words rushed out clumsily. Naruto was very inept at controlling his emotions, Sakura had noticed. He was like an oversized child half the time. It was almost... cute to see him so flustered for her sake.

She undeniably cared more about Naruto than she did about Sasuke, but when it came to life or death... the ultimatum was tearing her in two. An internal debate raged within her, battering the other until Sakura seemed to support a side. Did she _want_ to know the outcome?

"Sakura?" Naruto's voice was tentative. "Are you mad at me?"

_Are you mad at _me? She hated how he could always put her first, always consider what she wanted before his own desires. She could not begin to comprehend how important her answer must be to him. She wanted to tell him, to clear away his doubts. But she was struggling to come to her own terms – she was devastated that she could actually _decide_.

She threw her arms around his neck, knocking him back in his surprise. "Baka," she whispered, burrowing her face in his chest. "You're not going to die, are you? You won't die."

His embrace was soothing. His lack of hesitation hurt her. How could he be so willing and selfless? "Of course not," Naruto confirmed in a strong voice. "You know how tough I am – all the bad guys will run away when they see me."

"Baka." She wished he would never let her go. She didn't want to let _him_ go.

His voice softened. "You have an answer, don't you?"

Squeezing her eyes shut, she could only nod.

"Tell me when you're ready, yeah?"

"Okay," she said in a small voice.

His lips brushed lightly against her forehead. "Ne, what do you want for dinner? I can run down and-"

"Naruto."

He stopped and waited.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I can't give you my answer right now. But I will one day." She tried to smile at him. She could hear his steady breathing. "I'm sorry," she said again.

"Don't be like that, Sakura," he chuckled. "You know I still love you."

On days such as this, it seemed to be the only thing Sakura could be certain of.

OoO

He didn't need to check to know that that the footsteps reverberating off the cold stone walls were Kabuto's. He had heard. For hours now he had been expecting this visit.

First came the knock on the door. "Can I come in, Sasuke?"

He knew Kabuto would enter regardless of his answer, so he did not bother opening his mouth.

Light crept into the room, slicing through the meddling shadows. "Ah, Sasuke, it wouldn't hurt to be more polite, don't you think?"

"Hn. What do you want?"

Kabuto paused for a moment, leaning against the wall. "I'm back," he smirked.

"I can see that."

"Lord Orochimaru told you to move out when I returned, didn't he?"

Sasuke's eyes flitted toward his company for a bare second. "You're a day early. I'm not ready yet."

"Sasuke, Sasuke." Kabuto shook his head. "Why did you accept this mission if you didn't want to do it?"

"I never said that," Sasuke replied. He sat up on his bed. "Anything else, Kabuto? We're leaving tomorrow."

The other man chuckled, unfolding his arms as he recognised a dismissal. "One day won't make much of a difference, Sasuke. Sooner or later, you're going to have to face your friends again. You're just prolonging the inevitable."

"I don't need your opinion."

Alone once again, Sasuke let the darkness drape over his shoulders in a cloak of shadows. It wasn't homecoming; he no longer had a place to go home to. No, tomorrow, he was going to go back to where it all started.

OoO

Sakura woke up alone. She lay beneath the warm sheets for longer than usual, breathing in the scent he had left behind on his pillow. She wondered if she had upset him yesterday, if he really was mad. The thought made her grimace.

Her inability to answer him frustrated her. She _knew_ what she would do... but just could not tell him. She did not want to believe it herself. The mere notion that either Naruto or Sasuke would die was enough to choke the air from her lungs. She was not angry with Naruto for forcing her to draw to a conclusion. They were shinobi, after all. Death was just a term. It was a term she refused to relate to anyone she cared about.

It was frightening that, if Naruto's proposed scenario did become reality, Sakura would know what to do. Of course, contemplating what may never be was different when the time actually came. She would probably change her mind. Indubitably, no matter how she tried to choose and whichever she decided, she wanted to save both of them.

For some reason, it left her horribly confused.

"Stupid," Sakura muttered to herself. "Stop thinking about it already."

She pulled back the sheets and felt her way out into the corridor. Naruto had already left. He had told her he would be doing some more D-ranks. There had been the occasional task where he had taken her with him, to give her a breath of fresh air. He talked to her while he worked, but never let her handle anything he considered remotely dangerous. He irritated her sometimes, but some part of her refused to berate him because his actions were... sweet.

Sakura lifted a hand, filtering chakra into the air, dissipating it. Extending her range, she could sense the walls of Naruto's apartment. Kakashi had been right; Earth manipulation used in conjunction with Wind gave her an adequate image of her surroundings. It was much easier handling Earth than Wind, though. She still had a long way to go.

Finding her way to the kitchen, Sakura knew that Naruto had left her breakfast. It felt like a bento box. Beside it was a spoon. It was enough to bring a small smile to her face. She could picture Naruto waking up, extracting himself from her, stumbling to prepare to meal. It felt like his way of telling her that nothing had changed. He had been particularly chivalrous the previous night, as if he blamed himself for putting her on the spot like that.

It made Sakura feel so very guilty. She was being stupid, holding back her answer. Choosing between Naruto and Sasuke was difficult, but hadn't she been choosing one or the other for years? It had always been following Sasuke or Naruto, _loving_ Sasuke or Naruto. It made her speculate if Naruto already knew her answer and simply wanted to hear it first-hand from her.

"That'd be pretty silly," Sakura said aloud. It would be – Naruto waiting for an answer he already knew.

At that moment, she felt a sharp blast of chakra as the front door opened with its signature creak. Naruto's chakra lock. Instinctively she turned, about to greet him. He was back earlier than she had anticipated... maybe she could try to tell him, or at least ask him...

Sakura stiffened. No, this chakra was not Naruto's. It was not Naruto's presence either. The vibrations she felt were not his steps. In every sense, it was not Naruto.

"Sakura."

Her breaths were becoming ragged. Sakura's hands were scrunched into fists, balled with the strength of chakra she was not sure if she could use. She heard his footsteps. Lightly swirling wind around him, she could make out his vague figure. Her throat was dry when she tried to swallow.

"_The teme will come home only if he wants to, Sakura."_

"Sa... Sasuke." At least her voice was not cracking like the first time – and that time she had been able to _see_ him.

"Sakura," his cool voice repeated. It sounded deeper than she remembered.

"_Sasuke did this to you... do you hate him for it?_

She tried to draw on anger. She almost could. He had deserted them, broken up what had been Team Seven. He had left them to pick up the pieces. More importantly, he had _hurt_ them. He had hurt Naruto. Even before Sakura had come to regard the blond as more than a good friend, she had been instinctively defensive of him. Naruto was so much like a child that she automatically yearned to ensure that the ever-present smile on his face never faltered.

Sakura could almost hate Sasuke – but the 'almost' was all the difference in the world.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him. Her voice was calmer than she felt. She faced him, her stance loose. She had no weapons on her, only her chakra. Even with the training Tsunade had put her through, Sakura was not certain how she would fare out in a real fight.

_It doesn't really matter, does it?_ she mused. Sasuke had always been stronger than her.

The Uchiha silently observed his former teammate. Sakura looked well. There was certainty in her movements. Her blind eyes held a familiar gleam despite the milky texture in her pupils.

She spoke up again. "Why are you here? Did Orochimaru send you? Or..." Her voice broke off and she shook her head lightly, telling herself that Sasuke would not come home like this. "Why are you here?" Repeating it helped her think of him as a foe. A foe that she had barely any chance of defeating; a foe that could kill her. Like he almost had that last time.

She had instantly referred his presence to Orochimaru. Sasuke found this... harrowing. Sakura did not seem to think that he would have returned otherwise. He hadn't realised that he had done such an impeccable job of severing his bonds. His eyes narrowed. "Where is Naruto?" he asked her.

The name immediately stiffened Sakura's spine. She took a step toward Sasuke. "What are you going to do with him?" Her voice was a rigid whisper.

"You don't need to know that." Sasuke turned away. "If he's not here, then there's no point staying."

He had been expecting her to pursue him, so he was not at all shocked when she grabbed his arm. He was interested to note that she appeared to know his exact position. After a heartbeat, Sakura eyes widened as she realised what she was doing. Her fingers slackened but did not release him.

"Sasuke, don't."

There was a slight pause. Then, "You're as annoying as ever."

It reminded both of them of the night he had left the village. Except this time they were older, hardened by the many difficulties they had endured, their separate paths tearing them away from the affiliation of teammates – and this time Sakura did not intend to spill tears and plead.

They stood there, neither speaking. It was as close to staring into each other's eyes as they could get. Slowly, Sakura's grip on him tightened, creasing the fabric of his uniform.

"Let go," he intoned.

Sakura opened her mouth but a shuddering explosion reverberated off in the distance, followed by the wail of the village's security siren. Her jaw went slack as she turned her head, straining her hearing. _What's going on?_

"Let go," Sasuke repeated.

"What was that? It..."

"I need to find Naruto."

Naruto. It wiped all other concerns from the forefront of her conscience. Sakura could not think rationally. Sasuke was here for Naruto. He wanted – no; _Orochimaru_ wanted Naruto. Sasuke would not come back simply to challenge his old rival. Orochimaru must want Naruto for his own reasons – for the Nine Tailed Fox. There was no other explanation – none that she could discern, at least.

It always seemed to be Naruto everyone was after.

_CRACK!_

Skin to skin contact. Sasuke's head snapped to one side, one cheek reddening.

Sakura's hand stung, but her expression was one of supreme surprise. He had stood there and let her hit him. Intending to send him barrelling through the walls with a chakra-enhanced punch, she had ended up slapping him. Her frame trembled.

"You can't have him," she said thickly.

Crisp air brushed against her cheek as Sasuke flitted behind her. She could sense him there, his hand slicing down.

Her foot stabbed down with tremendous force, shattering the floorboards beneath their feet. "Don't!" Sakura shouted, and she was not even thinking of her own safety. She was biting her lip so hard that she could taste blood.

Sasuke danced away before he could plummet through the gaping fissure in the apartment. He would rather avoid a fight with Sakura. It was the generous thing to do – but she was not allowing it. She was not going to let him knock her out again. She had no chance of overwhelming him, especially in her state, yet she was prepared to face him. It was reckless, irrational, _stupid_.

It was the sort of thing Naruto would do.

"I'm not going to fight you, Sakura."

"Why not? Is it because I'm _blind_ now, Sasuke?" Sakura realised with astonishment that she was truly _angry_.

With a sharp burst of speed, he was suddenly in front of her, so close that he could see his own reflection in her insipid eyes. "No," he said, right before he backhanded her, smashing her against the wall behind. Her choked breath was lost in the impact. "It's because I don't know how to do it without killing you."

Her back was pressed against something cold. _Probably the fridge_, Sakura thought dimly. She must have broken down the kitchen wall. A sharp ache stabbed at her head, throbbing painfully. Something warm trickled down her face, dripping onto her arm. Blood or tears? She couldn't be certain.

She had gone down in one blow. It was outrageous. She had been through ten times this abuse – and yet the strength was already leaving her. A sharp fragment of rubble sliced the palm of her hand open when she attempted to heave herself to her feet.

Why couldn't she do _anything_?

Sasuke's hand clutched her neck. It wasn't warm, it wasn't comfortable. It didn't belong there. Not like Naruto's did. Naruto would never treat her like this; he would never hurt her. "Enough, Sakura," Sasuke murmured, a voice that was not Naruto's.

She was starting to get light-headed. How could she have been defeated so easily? _Damn it! Move, Sakura! Move..._ "Naruto..." she mumbled. They couldn't take him. She had to tell him her answer. He wasn't going anywhere...

The girl struggling feebly against him was a pitiful sight. Sasuke could see that her injuries were not severe; head wounds bled a lot. Years ago, it had been him Sakura had defended against Orochimaru. So many things had changed. He would never be able to return them to their original state.

Sakura began to lose consciousness. She could hear Sasuke's voice. It sounded distant. He had something to say to her after all.

"I'm sorry, Sakura."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** ... Hi. Well. It's been over two years and I didn't think I'd be able to come back to this story. But I have, even though I seriously considered abandoning it while writing this chapter. I've changed as a writer, with new styles, ideas and standards. When I look back at a story as old as Blossom, my first multichapter, I cringe at all the bad decisions, OOC-ness and unnecessary babble. But at the end of the day, I love this story for the memories and I feel I owe it to the readers who do want to see this finished. So here I am with the most ridiculously delayed chapter ever! A two year old cliffhanger, haha. You may need to glance through previous chapters to refresh.

Chapter 17 recap: Tsunade and Sakura talk about Naruto and Sakura's budding relationship with him. Later, Naruto is helping Sakura train in Wind manipulation; they talk about her blindness and Sasuke, and Naruto ends up asking who Sakura would save first if both he and Sasuke were about to die. Meanwhile, Sasuke prepares to return to Konoha and bring Naruto to Orochimaru. The next day, Sasuke shows up at Naruto's apartment. Only Sakura is home. She impulsively slaps him and struggles when he tries to subdue her, forcing Sasuke to knock her through a wall. Before she falls unconscious, she hears Sasuke say "I'm sorry."

Details to recall: Sakura is blind (just checking, haha). She 'sees' through using Wind and Earth manipulation by putting her chakra into the air and ground. Way back, Sakura once got lost at a festival and was accosted by a drunk. Sasuke saved her and later went to Naruto's apartment.

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

* * *

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." – _Eleanor Roosevelt_

* * *

"_Oi, Iruka-sensei! Why does an outstanding ninja like me have to be on the same team as that bastard?"_

"_You idiot! Apologise to Sasuke!"_

"_Tch. Just don't get in my way."_

"_What did you say?"_

"_NARUTO, LET GO OF SASUKE!"_

_Naruto…?_

Her first attempt to prise open her leaden eyes sent a sharp flash of white pain igniting at the base of her skull. Wincing, Sakura squeezed her eyes shut again, fingers twitching to curl slowly against the scarred floorboards. She lay there for a while, senseless on the cold floor even as it shook slightly beneath her. Debris sprinkled down to cling to her skin as if the building were about to crumble. Distantly, she could hear the clash of kunai.

Her eye prickled. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sakura knew there were tears on her face. Why had she been crying? She wasn't a powerless genin anymore. She wouldn't sit on trembling knees to watch Orochimaru take Sasuke, or selfishly rely on Naruto to solve her problems. She'd vowed to protect them, hadn't she? So why-

"_Where is Naruto?"_

Sakura's sightless eyes widened as the haze in her mind rapidly dissipated. Her head throbbed with the flood of memories, but it didn't stop her from clenching her hands into fists and pushing her aching body off the ground. Hunched over on all fours, Sakura held the position for a moment even as warm blood trickled lazily down her face to spatter wetly against the back of her hand. In seconds, her head was clear.

The weight of the situation knocked her back as Sakura shakily rose to her feet. Konoha was under attack. Sasuke had come back. He was after Naruto.

Naruto.

Sakura spun on the spot, guided by nothing more than instinct as she stumbled toward the door, not caring that she tripped on the chaotic mess that was the apartment she'd once known like the back of her hand. She couldn't still her mind, couldn't make the fuzzy edges of the chakra she forced in abundance into the air come into focus. No matter what she did, all she could discern was blackness. Her breath caught for a second, because the harrowing sensation of being engulfed by the suffocating darkness brought her back to waking in the hospital, alone. It frightened her.

She didn't know where she was going, but something made her race uncoordinatedly down the stairs with falling and breaking her neck the last thing on her mind. Something desperate.

Bursting out into the street filled Sakura's ears with the rush of battle. All around her, agitated chakra signatures flared. Sakura whirled around, her quick breathing somehow louder than the yells and clash of jutsu. "Naruto!" she called, ignoring the sting of her split scalp. "Naruto, where are you?"

She was answered by a sudden rush of air. Glazed eyes widening, Sakura had barely enough time to raise her arms to shield herself from the heavy blow that blindsided her. She skidded back several metres, heart pounding. _Focus_, she tried to tell herself, but her body wouldn't listen. She couldn't make out where her opponent was. She was completely open.

She couldn't see.

She was scared.

_Move_, she screamed at her body, because there was no other way to stay alive. _Move, _she pleaded with her bruised hands and weary limbs.

"Move, Sakura!"

The terror in those words made Sakura's head snap up, suddenly aware of the hostile chakra presence bearing down on her in close proximity. _Move_, she thought distantly, one last time.

Her hand came up almost on its own. Chakra tingled at her fingertips, and Sakura thrust her arm upwards.

A sharp blade nicked her shoulder, catching on flesh before tearing through in a shallow gash. Sakura winced, wondering where it would have pierced if she hadn't shifted her weight at the last second. But it was a superficial wound. She was alive.

A choked gurgle sounded above. Then something heavy collapsed on her, sending her falling backwards. Sticky warmth seeped into her front. Ragged breaths resounded hollowly by her ear. Sakura held her breath as they gradually slowed and softened, until all she could hear was her own heart pounding against her ribcage.

In the next second, the dead weight was pulled off her. Her arm came free with a sickening _squelch_. She flinched when someone grabbed her by the shoulders. "Sakura. Sakura, are you okay?"

"Ino," Sakura breathed in nothing more than a whisper.

Ino sighed in relief. Despite the dire situation, she couldn't help but pull the trembling girl towards her. "Don't do that ever again."

Sakura clung to the embrace. "Defend myself?" she asked faintly.

Ino couldn't laugh properly, nor could she find it in herself to correct her. There was no way she could put into words what it was like to see the girl who could snap a bone with the flick of a finger, sit defencelessly as war raged around her, not even knowing that her sightless eyes were staring directly at the enemy. Ino hated that her friend had looked like a civilian.

Decisively, she pulled Sakura to her feet. "Come on. I'm evacuating you to a safe house."

Senselessly, Sakura let Ino pull her along. She heard the other girl shout out to the large, blurry chakra presence that could only be Chouji. Then, cutting through the chaos, Shikamaru yelled.

Ino abruptly yanked Sakura back down to the ground, flattening herself over the blind girl. She hissed as something streaked above them, right into Chouji's oversized hands. "Got him!"

After a short pause, Ino dragged Sakura up again. "Come on."

"Ino, are you hurt?"

"Careful – the ground's broken up here."

But Sakura had already automatically sidestepped the fissure. "Ino," she said again, softly. Something began to rise in her chest, coming up her throat in a deep breath as the warmth of her hand in Ino's penetrated the thoughtless haze in her mind. Too warm, and wet. "Ino, stop."

The blonde girl did, involuntarily and instantly. It took her a beat to realise that it was the firm, authoritative tone in Sakura's voice that had compelled her to obey without question. Ino looked over her bleeding shoulder at her companion, studying the expression on her face. "You're hurt too, you know," she told her after a moment.

Sakura wiped the back of her hand across her temple, smearing blood across her cheeks. "Are we… safe?" she asked.

They were standing at the mouth of a narrow alleyway, a shortcut to one of the village's many evacuation routes. The shadows of the tall apartments on either side of them meant that most Sound nin raced past their location without a thought. "You tell me," Ino replied, watching Sakura's face.

The pink-haired girl's milky eyes shifted uncertainly as she frowned. Then she held out a hand. "Give me your arm."

"Which one?"

"… Left."

With a short laugh, Ino obligingly leaned forward to let Sakura find the wound on her shoulder blade. "Welcome back, Forehead. You should have told me earlier if all I needed to do was cut myself up."

Sakura grimaced, both from the all too familiar handseals of the Healing Palm that she hadn't formed in so long, and the lingering concern that Ino failed to conceal with her jibe. "I'm sorry. I… couldn't think." Her head was suddenly clear, but that in itself was enough to instil a renewed sense of fear in Sakura's being. She would be lying if she denied that her heart was still thumping painfully fast in her chest.

Ino winced as the glowing chakra stung her broken skin, but Sakura quickly adjusted her control so that the dull pain slowly ebbed away. No handicap could take the medic out of that girl. It made Ino want to shake her friend and crow _See? I told you._ Instead, she quietly thanked her and said, "I'm still evacuating you."

Sakura's frown deepened. "No, you're not."

"You can't fight like this."

"I've just never had the chance to try. I can do it, Ino. When I'm focused, I can- I can 'see'."

Ino shook her head. "Liar."

Sakura frowned. "There are three trash cans behind you. One is full and tipped over. This alley is two arm-spans wide. Shikamaru ran past just-"

"You're scared out of your wits by the thought of going out there, and you know it," Ino interrupted sharply. She didn't know why her frustration came out as anger. Maybe because she knew Sakura Haruno would always be so _stupid_. She'd throw herself into the impossible just so she wouldn't feel helpless, not caring what happened to her as long as she could do something.

Sakura went silent. Ino ran a hand through her hair. "Look Sakura, listen to me just this once. Let me get to the safe house and leave this to us. Do it for me, okay? Because if anything happens to you, Naruto is going to-"

"Sasuke's here. He's looking for Naruto."

Ino stopped short to stare at Sakura. The latter drew in a breath as the reality of her own words hit her. Her sightless eyes widened. At the same time, a glint of resolve flashed through them. She squeezed Ino's wrist. "I need to go to Naruto."

The blonde girl opened her mouth, then closed it again. The sudden eerie calmness and urgency in Sakura's voice told Ino that anything she said would fall on deaf ears; when Sakura was like this no one could dare to stop her. But Ino tried anyway. "We'll take care of Naruto and Sasuke. _You_ are evacuating."

Sakura's lips pressed into a thin line. "You can't stop me."

"Don't try to tell me what I can and can't do, Billboard Brow."

"Spare me of your hypocrisy, Pig."

"_Excuse me?"_ Ino felt like throttling her best friend. "Damn it, Sakura, I'm trying to protect you!"

"I know that!" In the back of her mind, Sakura wondered if arguing was the only way she and Ino could see eye to eye, the only way they could be honest to each other. "You know how I feel, Ino! Why won't you let me protect him? Because I _can't_?"

"_Exactly_."

On its own accord, Sakura's mouth fell open. Then her fingers slowly curled into a tight, deadly fist. "Ino," she ground out, "if you're going to run, you'd better start _now_."

Ino didn't bother pointing out that Sakura hadn't even given her the chance to, before the coldly incensed girl slammed her fist into the wall behind them.

The instant a minute crack split in the brick, Sakura froze. Ino knew exactly which breed of horrified, sheepish look her friend would give her if she had the time to convey it before the structure's foundations blew out and the building began to keel over their heads.

The two kunoichi skidded into the open street just as the alleyway collapsed in a loud crash of debris. Ino coughed in the drifting dust. "You are so lucky we already evacu-" She whirled around to knock Sakura back as a compressed sound wave raced past them. Ears ringing, the blonde girl released a brace of shuriken at the Sound nin, seized by Shikamaru's shadow only half a second earlier.

She spun to face the second assailant coming up behind her. But before Ino could draw a kunai, the man was already smashed into the ground two feet away from her. The bone-shattering collision shook the earth.

Sakura was breathing heavily as she straightened. Without gloves, her knuckles were scraped and bleeding – but she hardly felt the ache. She'd been through worse training with Tsunade. It seemed that all she'd had to do all along was let her body move as it remembered.

Ino idly watched the guilty glow of her friend's face as she flexed her bruised fingers. Sakura was relieved that her body remembered how to destroy. At the end of the day, she was still a kunoichi. In the past months, Ino knew that she and their friends had tried to treat Sakura otherwise, because there was no easier way to protect a shinobi than to prevent them from acting as one. Even Naruto had unconsciously done it himself. But now, Sakura had made her choice and there was no holding her back.

"Naruto's on a mission picking rubbish out of the south lake. Go protect him, or whatever crazy ideas you have behind that ridiculous forehead."

Sakura raised her head. "Ino?" She tilted her head with a slight frown. "Don't tell me you-"

"Jeez," Ino sighed loudly. She turned away even though she knew her companion could not see her small smile. "You argue when I don't let you go and you still argue when I do. Make up your mind, woman. Are you going to fight or not?"

Sakura stepped forward, mouth open, but faltered when the winds warned her of an airborne object falling in her direction. She caught it uncertainly. A weapons pouch.

"Just go. Naruto's waiting."

Sometimes, words simply weren't enough. So Sakura just nodded, attached the pouch to her hip, and ran past her friend.

Orochimaru. Sasuke. Naruto. Sakura knew she wasn't supposed to fit in this picture, but she did because a certain loud blonde did. She didn't know if standing by him would make any difference – after all, all those years ago, two stupid boys had decided that their pains and hardships should have nothing to do with her – but she would fight. Because all Sakura knew was that if she didn't go to him, she would regret it.

* * *

It seemed to Naruto that he was always at the wrong place at the wrong time.

He raced through the forest, flinging himself between trees. His narrowed eyes never wavered from the smoke that steadily rose from the village he had grown up in. He cursed to himself for the umpteenth time. He'd sensed them coming and had begun moving as soon as he realised the sudden flock of chakra signatures were hostile yet in spite of that, Naruto still felt helplessly slow.

It had to be Orochimaru. None of the other countries had the motive or forces to attack a fledged village like Konoha. Naruto didn't have time to ponder what they could possibly be after with. He was worried about his home, worried about Tsunade, about his friends and the villagers, and about Sakura.

What would Sakura do? She had to be scared, shaken by the violent sounds and tremors. She'd want to fight, and Naruto guiltily wished that she was well away from the battlefield. Someone would have to drag her, he knew. The old Sakura would have plunged into combat without hesitation. Even now, Sakura would want to be there among the sweat and blood, even if just standing there unnerved her.

"Damn it." The winds snatched the frustrated curse from his lips. He was supposed to be there.

Chakra stirred in Naruto's coils, propelling him forward. He had been deep into the village outskirts when the first explosion had hit. Now, the trees gradually thinned and paved into harder ground as the village buildings loomed closer. He could smell the acrid smoke and taste the coppery tang in the air. His eyes flashed.

He was so close to where he was supposed to be – so close that when an intense chakra presence abruptly uncloaked itself, Naruto let out a growl of impatience and flung out a brace of shuriken before he'd even whirled around.

His agitation ebbed away almost immediately afterwards, because there was something so tauntingly familiar about the atmosphere that slowing down was all Naruto could do to keep himself in check as his eyes locked with dark, murky ones.

For one moment, the village and Sakura fell away from Naruto's mind.

"Back to D-ranks, huh?" that flat voice said.

Naruto's fists clenched by his side. "I don't have time for this, Sasuke," he warned through gritted teeth. He was calmer than he'd thought he could be around his best friend. But he'd been calmer, hadn't he? He'd been cold, ruthless and spiteful that time Sasuke had shown up at his apartment and soothed Sakura's dark dreams with a single touch.

Looking at the dark-haired boy, perched nonchalantly on a spindly tree ten metres ahead of him, Naruto wondered when and what had changed. Naruto had once sprinted through the dim corridors of Orochimaru's hideout as if his life depended on bringing Sasuke home. When they had failed – again – he and Sakura had cried and vowed to become stronger together, all to bring their lost teammate back. Yet somewhere along the way, things had changed and now, the three of them were neither here nor there.

"Is Orochimaru here too?" Naruto wanted to know. His voice was bristling with tension, but he kept it controlled.

"No." There wasn't the slightest of inflections in Sasuke's tone.

"I suppose those would be your buddies making a mess in our home, huh?" Naruto shook his head. "Don't tell me you're attacking us because you were bored waiting for Orochimaru to take your body."

Sasuke's eyes flickered. "Sarcasm," he noted. "Impressive, dead last."

Naruto closed his eyes for a brief moment. The two of them had bickered like this so many times. For some ungodly reason, Naruto always came out on the short end. Sakura would usually take Sasuke's side but when she laughed at Naruto's shortcomings, the blonde could never help grinning back. Sometimes – not often but enough that it was precious – he and Sakura would gang up on Sasuke and force him to smile. Kakashi would just lean against whatever tree or post available at the time, absently flicking through his orange book, and half-heartedly call for them to focus on the mission.

It went without saying that Naruto missed those days. It had been so simple back then, and they had felt like such small existences against the larger shinobi world. He would give any limb to bring back those easy days. But even Naruto knew the time had passed for childish arguments and competition.

"We're going to fight, right?" he said softly, sadly.

"Unless you're smart enough to follow me back to Sound. Which you aren't."

He had suspected as much. He didn't need to ask what Orochimaru could want him for. The simple reality that Naruto was the Nine Tail's jinchuuriki was undeniable. He should have known. The attack on the village must be a diversion of some kind. And from the way Sasuke had located him so quickly and surreptitiously, Naruto suspected that the assault was fuelled by Orochimaru's bitter grudge against Konoha, and not to support the Uchiha.

Naruto's molars ground painfully against each other, gnashing together with enough force to make his jaw ache. He hated that he was the reason his home and its villagers were under attack. It wasn't fair.

"Oi, bastard." He raised his eyes to his old friend's, not flinching when he locked gazes with the crimson glint of the Sharingan. "Do you ever get homesick?"

Sasuke snorted.

"Hey, I'm being serious." Naruto regarded the other boy – somehow, he felt he was looking at a complete stranger. The Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto's mind was still thirteen years old.

Then his gaze lingered on a fading red mark on Sasuke's pale skin. With a jolt, Naruto wondered if Sasuke had been to his apartment before coming here. It would be the logical thing to do. His eyes narrowed. "Sasuke," Naruto said dangerously. "You didn't forget, did you? What I said the last time you came back?"

Sasuke's only response was to slowly draw his katana.

"If you hurt Sakura-"

The low voice cut through Naruto's snarl. "You'll kill me, right?"

Naruto's answer was swallowed by the loud swirl of condensed chakra ripping through leaves, bark and the air above Sasuke's head. Sasuke didn't look away from the blonde's dark expression even as the pressure threatened to crush him. His own features twisted.

"RASENGAN!"

* * *

Sakura carefully waded through the running stream. The liquid chill licked at her ankles, the fluttering sensation exactly the same as all the times she had sat with her eyes closed and her legs in the lake. But she wasn't a genin anymore, and no longer had the leisure of winding down like that after a long day with her team, looking forward to a warm dinner with her parents.

She picked up the woven basket. The chakra-infused wind that she wrapped around it flowed strangely, passing through the many openings to leave Sakura with a skeletal image. She willed the breeze down to her feet, where she sensed what she suspected was a soggy nest of fishing nets, crushed cans and plastic bags wedged between two wet stones. Sakura gingerly set the basket aside.

Naruto had been here, but he clearly wasn't in the area anymore. Sakura knew that even without extending her range to its furthest – he would have hastily returned to the village the moment he was aware of the invasion. He moved so fast now that he might be within Konoha's walls already, flooding the streets with his shadow clones.

If Sasuke hadn't found him first.

Pulling herself out of the shallow water, Sakura sucked in a long, calming breath before throwing herself into a hard sprint through the trees. Her head ached and pounded at the thought of the Uchiha. He had taken her down so easily that Sakura's desperate search through the forest was just as easily fuelled by frustration as it was anxiety. She resented that everything she had made of herself in the two and a half years that they had been apart, everything she had painstakingly dragged her through – none of it seemed to matter when it boiled down to this.

Her breaths were loud, just like the quick thump of her heart in her chest, as Sakura cast out her chakra as far as it could reach. There was a chance that Naruto had passed her by and had reached the village, but a strange intuition told Sakura that he was still in the forest. It wasn't that she could sense Naruto among the tall, quiet trees; rather, Sakura simply understood Sasuke enough to see that he would lure Naruto to a place where they wouldn't be interrupted, no matter where they clashed. When it came to Naruto, Sasuke was almost predictable – it was the closest Sakura could come to understanding the Uchiha.

Until today, Sakura had thought she knew what Sasuke wanted with her: nothing. They were Team Seven, but it was Naruto that Sasuke had always been conscious of. Even back then, Sakura had known that no amount of acceptance on Sasuke's part could make him see her like his blonde rival. When she made herself useful, she was an asset; other times, an inconvenience. The way Sasuke had tried to dispose of her almost a year ago was only a painful reminder. And yet…

"_I'm sorry, Sakura."_

A low branch lashed Sakura's cheek when her focus slipped, drawing a long, shallow but jagged gash on her skin. Her eyes stung.

Sakura wouldn't let herself believe that Sasuke could be unpredictable when it came to her. After all, it would only prove that he was even more whimsical towards her than he was towards Naruto. He had claimed to have spared Naruto's life three years ago on a whim, yet he was ready to hand Naruto to Orochimaru.

Sakura's glazed eyes hardened. She couldn't see how he could do that, only that he had already sacrificed so much just to avenge his clan and lost childhood. But Sakura wasn't going to let him sacrifice what was hers. She swore she wouldn't. Not Naruto.

* * *

It burned.

Naruto reeled back as his clones were thrown back by a full-body Chidori. He had already hit the charred ground in a tight roll when a crackling Kusanagi came down on his head. He whirled around to snap his leg at Sasuke's side – and fell into another roll as the illusion faded. He barely had time to curse.

A roaring dragon of fire rushed at him. Its sheer heat formed beads of perspiration of Naruto's forehead as he hastily flipped away from its path. When it winded in on itself to snap at him with fiery jaws, Naruto threw both hands up and a strong gust of wind surged past him to slam into the beast. The dragon fell back, shredded by the sharp gale.

Naruto remained crouched as his eyes flickered watchfully in all directions. There wasn't much place to hide. The two of them had rapidly levelled most of the surrounding forest within seconds, and the few remaining shrubbery smouldered with small flames.

The soil beneath Naruto's feet exploded. He managed to jerk backwards just as a shimmering blade flashed past his face, cutting through the surprised breath he had exhaled. He caught a glimmer of the Sharingan on the metal surface and quickly averted his eyes. Naruto wasn't going to take any chances now, not when he was already at his limit keeping up with his opponent.

"What do you think?" Naruto grunted as he stopped a fast kick, the impact shuddering up his arm. "Seen enough to regret underestimating me?"

Sasuke shifted his head as Naruto's fist flew at his face. "You overestimate yourself, dobe," he said flatly.

He felt strong fingers seize the back of his shirt by the collar, and he tossed Kusanagi into the air to catch Naruto's other hand. Their faces drew up close, arms trembling beneath a rivalry that had only intensified over the years, and the pressure of each other's strength.

"As long as you are tied down by bonds, you'll never be anything but weak," Sasuke told him.

Those words angered him somehow but Naruto pressed it down. "For you, maybe. Me, I live for those bonds. They keep me on track."

Sasuke's katana spun through the air, hanging suspended above them for two long seconds.

Naruto smiled grimly. "But maybe I am weak. I couldn't protect _our_ bond, after all."

They flew apart as Kusanagi stabbed into the ground between them. Skidding back, Naruto summoned a clone and put his hand out. He watched unwaveringly as Sasuke crouched slightly, an electric blue glow sparking in his hand.

Naruto closed his eyes for precious few seconds. It always came down to this. Alone, this was the only way the two of them knew to deal with each other. They hadn't clashed like this since the Valley of the End. They almost had a year ago, when Naruto had burst into the clearing to find that same Chidori run through Sakura. But they hadn't only because Naruto had seized Sakura and ran; ran so quickly that her blood was still warm on his hands when he desperately crashed into the hospital. He'd left Sasuke standing there, silent and unmoving while crimson steadily dripped from his fingers.

As the howl of whirling chakra and the high-pitched cries of a thousand birds filled the air, Naruto opened his eyes.

And he faltered as he blinked at the frown on Sasuke's eerily-lit face. The erratic chirping emitted from the Uchiha's right hand lessened slightly as his eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here, Kabuto?"

The Rasengan wavered. "Kabuto?" Naruto echoed warily.

The shadows sheltered by the trees fringing the ravaged battlefield stirred with a soft, peculiar chuckle. "I was just curious to see this fight." Dim light fell on a slim, pale face. Naruto scowled at the too-familiar gesture of the silver-haired man adjusting his glasses. "My, my, you two have already destroyed this place. You should be more environmentally conscious, boys."

The hum of the Rasengan escalated once more. "Want me to do the same to you?" Naruto growled. Some part of Naruto blamed Kabuto for Sasuke's defection and Sandaime's death. He could never forgive that.

Kabuto just smiled.

"Kabuto," Sasuke said in a low tone. "What are you holding?"

Naruto's gaze travelled down to Kabuto's side, cloaked by the shadows. He had something tucked under his arm. Naruto squinted, trying to discern what it was. His stomach was already churning unpleasantly, his throat dry when he swallowed.

Kabuto tilted his head. "This? I found her running around."

Naruto didn't see or hear much of Sasuke's reaction. All he knew was that a deep, dangerous rage was bubbling in a deep, dark pit within his consciousness.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Don't be mistaken, Sasuke. I simply thought an extra medic could be useful to Lord Orochimaru. We can leave as soon as you finish up here."

Sasuke didn't say anything – but even if he had no one could have heard it over Naruto's incensed yell as he broke into a blind sprint. "_Let go of her, you bastard!"_

He smashed into the tree, Rasengan crunching into the wide trunk until it broke through. Naruto looked over his shoulder as the tree toppled. "Let. Go. Of. Her," he snarled across the field.

Kabuto looked over at Sasuke, eyebrow raised. "We should hurry, Sasuke. Lord Orochimaru is waiting."

Naruto's narrowed eyes knifed to Sasuke's impassive expression. "Sasuke," he said breathlessly. "You're just going to stand there? You don't care?" He angrily stabbed a finger at Kabuto's damningly smug face. "He's trying to give Sakura to Orochimaru for no reason! You're after me – fine, it's not the first time. But Sakura – Sakura doesn't _belong_ there!" She belonged here, where their friends were, where she was safe and happy, where Naruto could catch her if she fell.

Wordlessly, Sasuke stepped forward to pull his sword from the ground. Naruto watched him. "Sasuke," he muttered. "Come on."

He barely brought up a kunai in time to catch the blow Sasuke lashed at him. A shrill screech made Naruto's ears ring. "This is why you are weak," Sasuke murmured. He sank his knee into Naruto's stomach.

Naruto grimaced and staggered backwards one step, before flinging his kunai at Sasuke's neck. Kusanagi sliced through it. Before the sharp blade had cut completely through the other, Naruto pulled up against Sasuke, his arm pulled back. Sasuke's hand came up defensively.

Naruto's fist smacked against his jaw. Sasuke's head snapped to the side and, distantly, the dull impact felt just like Sakura's open palm. His Sharingan had seen it before it landed; it wasn't a chakra-enhanced blow, just a regular punch clenched with intense anger. The kind Naruto had thrown at Sasuke far too many times.

Naruto's head was bowed, his eyes dark. "You came back for her that time, so I thought you cared about Sakura. I thought…" He couldn't think. All he knew was that Sakura was hanging limply off Kabuto's arm like some beaten, ragged doll. It haunted him. Naruto clenched his fist and raised it again, eyes roiling with fury and frustration. "Goddamn it, Sasuke!"

Evading the blow was child's play. Sparks leapt from Sasuke's skin, sending Naruto hurtling backwards. The blonde flipped and braced himself against a tree for a brief instant before launching himself back at his opponent with a hoarse yell. In one stroke, Sasuke cut through the shadow clones that had materialised behind him and pivoted to catch the elbow Naruto had flung at his gut. Sasuke transferred his weight so he wouldn't skid, his eyes flashing. Naruto's blows were noticeably harder. Glancing up, Sasuke saw that that the blue eyes had become slitted.

Already stirring the tailed beast inside him. Sasuke relocated behind his opponent before Naruto could break through his guard. He backhanded Naruto across the shoulder blade; he didn't even stumble, only whipped around to snatch at him with clawed fingers.

Sasuke continued to dance away from his opponent's feverish strikes. Wondering why he chose to take the defensive put a frown on his face. Was it that he didn't want to fight this way? It was ridiculous. Sasuke knew he was a fool if he thought he desired to face Naruto Uzumaki without the Kyuubi or the Cursed Seal. He didn't.

Pausing as Naruto caught himself in a genjutsu he had laid, Sasuke's eyes flickered to catch Kabuto's. A small smile crept into the man's face. Kabuto was difficult to understand even to Sasuke, and that was why he continued to distrust the man.

Sasuke idly regarded Sakura's motionless figure. Blind. She'd struggled futilely against a mere drunk; she stood no chance against Kabuto. She couldn't be much use as a kunoichi anymore.

If Kabuto got his way, Sakura would wake in a dim, cold chamber with her chakra sealed. She would cautiously slip off the hard block that was her bed and warily feel for the stone walls. She might trip on the uneven floor and skin her knees. At some point, Kabuto would check on her. She would angrily lash out at him and he would easily subdue her to heal her scrapes. Then he might take her to Orochimaru. Naruto might be there, mangled in some way, and Sakura would struggle and curse the Snake Sannin. Whatever happened, Sasuke would be far away on the other side of the compound like nothing had changed.

Sasuke cut off his own thoughts. _Itachi, _he reminded himself. _Itachi Uchiha. I'll make him-_

His thoughts broke off, this time on its own accord. Sasuke's eyes were drawn back to Sakura. She seemed to stir, but when Sasuke peered more intently, he saw more. He cursed mentally.

How could he not have seen that, when he had easily seen the exact instant that Naruto had sidelined their battle to leave Sasuke to face a clone? That idiot. He had concealed himself well in the shadows behind Kabuto, blazing eyes fixed on Sakura. He had to know that there was no way Kabuto would not sense him. But Naruto had always been reckless and sometimes, when it came to his precious people, he was completely nonsensical.

Sasuke knew Naruto Uzumaki too well.

The confounded clone, tangled in Sasuke's genjutsu, lifted its head when it sensed the vague presence behind it. Without pausing, Sasuke dispelled it with a merciless stab – just as the real Naruto pounced at Kabuto. "Let go of-"

Sasuke looked away.

The body beneath Kabuto's arm burst into writhing snakes. Naruto's face was a mask of horror as barrelled straight into them. His face was frozen as the reptiles' wide jaws stretched to reveal glistening fangs and he didn't even move as they swarmed over his face, arms and chest, sinking those fangs into his flesh.

Then he dissipated into smoke.

The snakes fell and twisted on the ground for several moments, winding over each other until they piled into a hissing pillar. Pale white skin melted into place, knitting into hollow cheekbones and a long, purple tongue that licked half-formed lips.

"I'm disappointed, Sasuke."

"Why are you here?" Sasuke questioned tonelessly.

Orochimaru made a soft clicking sound. "It's a good thing I am, don't you agree?" he asked coyly. He was answered with an unwavering stare. The Sannin laughed. "Ah, Sasuke. I didn't expect you to be so soft."

At that moment, Naruto emerged from the bushes. He tried to catch Sasuke's eye, to no avail. He looked confused. But there was no time to be, not when Orochimaru was here. Naruto tensed.

Orochimaru shook his head and turned away. "Come, Sasuke. We'll let Kabuto deal with Naruto here."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "This is my fight."

"I thought your fight was with Itachi."

Sasuke was silent, his Sharingan eyes hooded. Orochimaru smirked and strode deeper into the forest. Sheathing his sword, Sasuke followed him into the shadows.

"Wait, Sasuke!" Naruto stepped forward, his arm rising to reach out for what he couldn't grasp. Sasuke didn't stop or look back. Naruto's fingers tightened helplessly before dropping down to his side.

"_Open your eyes, idiot."_

Kabuto was watching him with faint amusement. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised."

Naruto was – but hell if he would give him the satisfaction. Sasuke's low voice was in his ear the same way it had been in his clone's moments it had been impaled. Naruto knew what he had heard, and a small spark of hope ignited in his chest, clouded as it was. Another whim?

A small smile formed on Naruto's lips. It didn't matter, did it? Whim or not, Sasuke had helped him. He couldn't wait to tell Sakura.

Sakura.

Naruto rounded on Kabuto. "If you touched a single hair on Sakura's head," he warned, "I won't even honour your last words."

The man chuckled. He nudged his glasses up his nose with one finger. "I think you have greater concerns, Naruto. Will you come quietly or will you force me to get my hands dirty?"

Naruto held up his hands in a familiar handseal. "What do you think?" he growled.

A long, heavy silence filled up the space between them. Kabuto, still smiling steadily, didn't move. Naruto didn't either.

Yet somehow, neither of them noticed her until her shadow grew too large to ignore.

"SHANNARO!"

* * *

**A/N: **Keep in mind that this was written when Orochimaru was still the big baddie, before Sasuke grew blind with hatred. It lessens Sasuke's OOC-ness a little bit. I couldn't fix that; I'd characterised him like that in previous chapters. Never winging a story chapter by chapter ever again...

Last word: by making myself finish this story, I could well be butchering it. It's quite glaringly obvious in this chapter, actually. The writing is careless no matter how hard I try to change it. Sorry about that! All I can say is: don't expect fantastical things from these last few chapters. Hate it, love it, I hope you'll stick around and simply enjoy the last part of this ride with me :)


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